Antiplatelet agents have a beneficial effect in reducing all cause mortality and fatal cardiovascular events in patients with IC .
BACKGROUND Peripheral arterial disease ( PAD ) is common and is a marker of systemic atherosclerosis .
Patients with symptoms of intermittent claudication ( IC ) are at increased risk of cardiovascular events ( myocardial infa rct ion ( MI ) and stroke ) and of both cardiovascular and all cause mortality .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effectiveness of antiplatelet agents in reducing mortality ( all cause and cardiovascular ) and cardiovascular events in patients with intermittent claudication .
Ticlopidine in the treatment of intermittent claudication: a 21-month double-blind trial.
After a 3-month , single-blind , run-in period , 151 patients with intermittent claudication were r and omly allocated to receive the antiplatelet agent ticlopidine ( 250 mg twice per day ) or an identical placebo .  One hundred and twenty patients completed the double-blind phase of the trial , which lasted 21 months . The primary analysis was performed according to the " intention-to-treat principle " in all 151 enrolled patients . There was , continuing on from the third month after r and omization , a progressive and sustained improvement of the pain-free and maximum walking distances in the two treatment groups that was significantly greater in the ticlopidine group . The ankle-arm systolic blood pressure ratio at rest and after exercise increased in a significant manner in the ticlopidine group only . In a secondary analysis , with exclusion of 25 patients because of protocol violations at selection , consistently significant differences in favor of the ticlopidine group were still observed for maximum walking distance and systolic ankle-arm blood pressure ratio , both at rest and after exercise . No major side effects were reported in the treated group . It is concluded that long-term treatment with ticlopidine improves walking ability and ankle systolic blood pressure in patients with claudication
Antiplatelet agents have a beneficial effect in reducing all cause mortality and fatal cardiovascular events in patients with IC .
BACKGROUND Peripheral arterial disease ( PAD ) is common and is a marker of systemic atherosclerosis .
Patients with symptoms of intermittent claudication ( IC ) are at increased risk of cardiovascular events ( myocardial infa rct ion ( MI ) and stroke ) and of both cardiovascular and all cause mortality .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effectiveness of antiplatelet agents in reducing mortality ( all cause and cardiovascular ) and cardiovascular events in patients with intermittent claudication .