An atherosclerosis risk factor assessment program for patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease

From a group of 251 high-risk patients less than 65 years of age, 84 with angiographic or vascular laboratory proven peripheral arterial occlusive disease were evaluated in detail. The following risk factors were identified: smoking in 91% with an average of 35 +/- 18 pack/years; treated or untreated hypertension in 40%; hyperlipidemia in 49%; obesity with a body weight greater than 120% of ideal in 18%; diabetes in 9%; family history of premature vascular disease in 70%; and hyperuricemia in 13%. Based on these results, we have introduced a practical approach for investigating and managing risk factors that can be administered by paramedical personnel, utilizing a questionnaire given to patients and standard blood tests to identify important risk factors. The results of the completed questionnaires and blood test are entered on a microcomputer. A program written using d-Base III stores the data, identifies the risk factors and grades their severity. We have designed an information booklet that highlights the individual patient's risk factors and suggests alternatives for management based on the sources of medical and community help available in our area.     

Prognostic significance of declining ankle-brachial index values in patients with suspected or known peripheral arterial disease.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a risk factor for cardiovascular events. This study assessed the prognostic significance of repeated ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurements at rest and after exercise in patients with PAD receiving conservative treatment. METHODS: In a cohort study of 606 patients (mean age 62+/-12 years, 68% male), ABI at rest and after exercise was measured at baseline and after 1 year. Patients with reductions in ABI were divided into three equally-sized groups (minor, intermediate and major reductions) and were compared to patients without reductions. During a mean follow-up of 5+/-3 years, all-cause mortality, cardiac events, stroke and progression to kidney failure were noted. RESULTS: Death was recorded in 83 patients (14%) of which 49% were due to cardiac causes. Non-fatal myocardial infarction occurred in 38 patients (6%), stroke in 46 (8%) and progression to kidney failure in 35 (6%). By multivariate analysis, patients with major declines in resting (>20%) and post-exercise (>30%) ABI were at increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.5-7.2, HR: 3.0, 95% CI: 1.4-6.4, respectively), cardiac events (HR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.3-7.2, HR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.1-5.6, respectively), stroke (HR: 4.2, 95% CI: 1.6-10.4, HR: 3.9, 95% CI: 1.4-10.2, respectively) and kidney failure (HR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.1-7.5, HR: 6.9, 95% CI: 1.5-31.5, respectively), compared to patients with no declines in ABI. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that major 1-year declines in resting and post-exercise ABI are associated with all-cause mortality, cardiac events, stroke and kidney failure in patients with PAD.     

Cardiovascular risk assessment according to a national calibrated score risk index in psoriatic arthritis patients without clinically evident cardiovascular disease or classic atherosclerosis risk factors

ObjectiveTo assess cardiovascular (CV) risk in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients without clinically evident CV disease or classic atherosclerosis risk factors according to the SCORE chart following the EULAR recommendations.MethodsEighty PsA patients without previous CV events or atherosclerosis risk factors and eighty matched controls were included. Information on demographic, anthropometric and clinical-serological data of disease was assessed. The national calibrated Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) index was calculated and the association between this SCORE and clinical-serological data of these patients was analyzed.ResultsPsA patients had higher acute phase reactants as well as higher SCORE mean values than healthy controls (1.99 ± 3.52 vs. 1.0 ± 1.74; P = 0.028). According to SCORE definitions, 71 (89%) patients had low-intermediate CV risk and 9 (11%) were above the threshold of high risk. In the control group, 76 (95%) had low-intermediate risk and four (5%) had high CV risk. However, there were no differences in CV risk stratification between both groups (P = 0.148). PsA patients with high-very high CV risk had longer disease duration (P = 0.001) and higher levels of triglycerides (P = 0.009). PsA patients showed a significant correlation between SCORE values and disease duration (β = 0.185; P = 0.0001) and the average annual levels of C reactive protein (CRPa), β = 2.38; P = 0.014.ConclusionCV risk assessment in PsA patients without clinically evident CV disease or classic atherosclerosis risk factors may be underestimated by using only the SCORE chart. In these patients, disease duration and the CRPa may help to establish a better stratification of the actual CV risk.     

Peripheral arterial disease predicts overall and cardiovascular mortality in peritoneal dialysis patients

Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is an important manifestation of systemic atherosclerosis and is common among dialysis patients. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for the leading cause of mortality in dialysis patients, and PAD has been found as a predictor for cardiovascular as well as overall mortality in general population. However, the study on the role of PAD in the prognosis of peritoneal dialysis patients is rather limited. Methods: Prevalent continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients over 60 years old were recruited in this study and were followed-up regularly to death or the end of the study. The diagnosis of PAD was based on ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) < 0.9 or intermittent claudication. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify the risk factors for cardiovascular and overall mortality. Survival curves were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method followed by log-rank test to compare the mortality rate between PAD and non-PAD patients. Results: One hundred and seventy-one patients were included and 62 (36%) had PAD complication. In the follow-up of 24.4 (median 34.6) months, 36 deaths were recorded: 19 from PAD group and 17 from non-PAD group. Twenty-one patients died due to CVD: 13 from PAD group and 8 from non-PAD group. The presence of PAD and serum albumin was found independently associated with cardiovascular and overall mortality using Cox proportional hazards model. Conclusion: PAD is very common in aged peritoneal dialysis patients and independently associated with both cardiovascular and overall mortality.     

Management of cardiovascular risk factors by primary care physicians in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

BACKGROUND: Patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) are now intensively treated by primary care physicians predominantly because of government pressure and remuneration to prescribe anti-platelet and anti-hyperlipidaemic drugs. Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) with the identical risk factors appeared to us to be less intensively investigated and treated by primary care physicians. OBJECTIVE: To review the treatment of risk factors in all patients referred to two vascular clinics with a diagnosis of suspected PAD. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Vascular outpatient clinic in two district general hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: 124 consecutive new patients were studied to determine risk factors and appropriate treatment. RESULTS: Of the 124 patients, 85 (68%) were confirmed to have PAD without evidence of symptomatic CAD. In the PAD alone group, less than 25% received anti-smoking advice (p < 0.0001) and only 36% were prescribed anti-platelet drugs (p = 0.016). Seventy-three per cent of the overall referred patients with hypertension had been treated for this condition and the blood pressure was normal in 71% of the patients with PAD. In patients with hyperlipidaemia, statins had been prescribed in 92% of patients with coexistent symptomatic CAD, but only in 64% of patients with PAD alone (p = 0.009). In the patients with diabetes, only 66% of the PAD alone group had adequate control of their blood sugar (p = 0.185). CONCLUSIONS: It would appear that patients with CAD and PAD are being treated successfully for their risk factors, but patients with PAD alone, sharing the same common risk factors, are being less than optimally treated.     

Duplex ultrasound of the superficial femoral artery is a better screening tool than ankle-brachial index to identify at risk patients with lower extremity atherosclerosis

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of vascular disease screening is early identification of atherosclerotic disease and the aim of an ankle-brachial index (ABI) is to identify lower extremity (LE) atherosclerosis as a marker for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, early evidence of atherosclerosis may be present in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) with a normal resting ABI. This study was performed to determine if SFA duplex ultrasound (DUS) could detect more patients with LE atherosclerosis than an ABI; be performed in the same or less time as the ABI measurement; and be associated with similar vascular disease markers as the ABI. METHODS: From January through November 2006, 585 patients were screened for peripheral arterial disease. SFA DUS was included in this Institutional Review Board approved program and demographic/ultrasound data were collected prospectively. SFA DUS findings were divided into six categories. Plaque w/o color change or worse and ABI <0.90 or >1.20 were considered to be abnormal. Data were evaluated using decision matrix and logistical regression analysis. RESULTS: Sensitivity and specificity of SFA DUS using the ABI as the benchmark was 100% and 88%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of ABI was 17% and 100%, respectively, using DUS as the standard. DUS detected atherosclerotic disease in 143 SFAs (93 patients) in which the ipsilateral ABI was normal, and there were no false negative SFA DUS studies. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated the following variables to be significantly and independently associated with an abnormal SFA DUS as well as an abnormal ABI: history of claudication, history of myocardial infarction, and an abnormal carotid DUS. Additional variables (current or past smoker and age >55) were also independently associated with an abnormal SFA DUS but not with an abnormal ABI. Mean time to complete bilateral testing was essentially the same for both tests. CONCLUSIONS: SFA DUS is an accurate screening tool and can be utilized in screening protocols in place of the time-honored ABI without prolonging the examination. Traditional vascular disease markers that are found in patients with an abnormal ABI are also associated with an abnormal SFA DUS. SFA DUS identifies more patients with early LE atherosclerosis than does ABI without missing significant popliteal/tibial artery occlusive disease. Finally, an abnormal SFA DUS can be used as an indirect marker to identify more potentially at risk patients with CAD.     

Novel and traditional cardiovascular risk factors for peripheral arterial disease in incident-dialysis patients

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which threatens limb viability and patient survival, is increasing in frequency in the dialysis population, but associated risk factors remain poorly defined. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the association of novel and traditional cardiovascular risk factors with PAD in incident-dialysis patients enrolled in the CHOICE study by application of multivariate logistic-regression models with adjustment for confounders. Risk factors were determined by interview, record review, and laboratory analysis of frozen specimens. Among 922 patients, 25% had a diagnosis of PAD. After adjustment, higher prevalence of PAD was associated with increasing age (odds ratio [OR], 95% CI = 1.28 [range: 1.12 to 1.48] per 10-year increase in age); presence of diabetes mellitus (OR, 95% CI = 2.76 [range: 1.72 to 4.42]); higher Index of Co-Existent Disease (ICED), ICED 2 and ICED 3 versus ICED 0-1, (OR, 95% CI = 2.04; [range: 1.24 to 3.35] and OR, 95% CI = 2.81 [range: 1.83 to 4.30], respectively). After adjustment, we found no statistically significant association between CRP and prevalence of PAD. The prevalence of PAD diagnosis was 34% higher per quartile increase in Lp(a) (OR, 95% CI = 1.34 [range: 1.13 to 1.59]). Similarly, the prevalence of PAD diagnosis was 19% higher per quartile increase in total homocysteine (OR, 95% CI = 1.19 [range: 1.05 to 1.35]). The prevalence of PAD is high in incident-dialysis patients and is associated with several novel and traditional cardiovascular risk factors. This study identifies several novel risk factors (eg, Lp(a) and total homocysteine) and underscores the need for further research to reduce the burden of PAD in this high-risk group of patients.     

Predictive cardiovascular risk factors in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD)

BACKGROUND: Traditional cardiovascular risk factors and uremia-related specific factors have been identified in patients with CKD, explaining the highest risk for morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the predictive power of several cardiovascular risk factors and markers in a population of stable patients with moderate CKD. METHODS: One hundred twenty-eight (78 M, 50 F) outpatients with estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <60 mL/min were included in the study. Medical records about cardiovascular factors were recorded. Analytical parameters and cardiac markers were analyzed. The patients were prospectively followed, and the end points were fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events. RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 22.3 months, 27 patients had a cardiovascular event. The patients who suffered a cardiovascular event were older (P= 0.002), with more anemia (P= 0.014), higher pulse pressure (P= 0.011), and cTnT levels (P= 0.000). In addition, they had more prevalence of LVH (P= 0.001), diabetes (P= 0.013), previous coronary heart disease (P= 0.008), chronic heart failure (P= 0.000), vascular peripheral disease (P= 0.006), and had also a higher score of 10-year coronary heart disease predicted risk (P= 0.006). Age [hazard ratio (HR) 1.07, P= 0.02], previous coronary artery disease (HR 4.08, P= 0.0012), and cTnT levels (HR 1.64, P= 0.0000) independently predicted cardiovascular events on multivariate Cox analysis. CONCLUSION: In stable patients with CKD, age and previous coronary artery disease were the traditional cardiovascular risk factors more predictive for cardiovascular events. Cardiac troponin T is a powerful marker of cardiovascular events in CKD patients.     

The validity of ankle-brachial index for the differential diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease and lumbar spinal stenosis in patients with atypical claudication

Purpose

Claudication is a typical symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Differential diagnosis of PAD and LSS is often difficult due to the subjective natures of symptoms and atypical signs. The authors aimed to determine the usefulness of ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurement for the differential diagnosis of PAD and LSS when the etiology of claudication is uncertain.

Methods

Forty-two consecutive patients who had been referred by spine surgeons to a lower extremity vascular surgeon for atypical claudication were retrospectively analyzed. Atypical claudication was defined as claudication not caused by PAD, as determined by clinical manifestations, or by LSS, as determined by MR imaging. A final diagnosis of PAD was established by CT angiography (CTA) and of LSS by excluding PAD. Diagnostic validity of ABI for PAD in atypical presentation was assessed.

Results

Sixty-two legs of 42 atypical claudication patients were analyzed. Mean patient age was 65.8 ± 8.2 years (38–85) and 29 (69.0%) had diabetes mellitus. Mean ABI was 0.73 ± 0.14 (0.53–0.94) in the PAD group and 0.92 ± 0.18 (0.52–1.10) in the LSS group (P < 0.001). Of the 33 legs with a low ABI (ABI < 0.9), 29 legs were diagnosed as true positives for PAD by CTA and 4 were false positives, and of the 29 legs with a high ABI, 5 were false negatives and 24 were true negatives. The sensitivity and specificity of ABI for the diagnosis of PAD in patients with atypical claudication were 85.3 and 85.7%, respectively, and its positive and negative predictive values were 87.9 and 82.8%.

Conclusions

ABI is a recommended screening test for the differential diagnosis of lower leg claudication when clinical symptoms are atypical.     

Multiple intracranial arterial occlusions (moyamoya disease) in patients with neurofibromatosis one case report with autopsy

Summary The authors report two cases of multiple intracranial arterial occlusive disease occurring in patients affected by neurofibromatosis. Clinicoradiological presentation was, in both cases, typical of the so-called Moyamoya disease. Special emphasis on the anatomopathological necropsy findings in the second case is made, because, to the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case in the literature.     

Nontraditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic kidney disease

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a reduced lifespan, and a substantial proportion of these individuals die from cardiovascular disease. Although a large percentage of patients with CKD have traditional cardiac risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and abnormalities in cholesterol, interventions to address these factors--which have significantly decreased cardiovascular mortality in the general population--have not shown such benefit in the CKD population. In addition, the severity and extent of cardiovascular complications in patients with CKD is disproportionate to the number and severity of traditional risk factors. This realization has focused attention on nontraditional cardiac risk factors that are particularly relevant to patients with CKD, including decreased hemoglobin levels, microalbuminuria, increased inflammation and oxidative stress, and abnormalities in bone and mineral metabolism. However, large prospective trials in patients with advanced CKD or in those requiring chronic dialysis have not shown that normalization of these nontraditional risk factors improves survival. Moreover, the mechanisms by which these nontraditional risk factors contribute to cardiovascular disease are unknown. Therefore, although current treatment of patients with CKD includes management of traditional and nontraditional risk factors, the value of modifying some nontraditional risk factors remains unclear.     

Effects of exercise rehabilitation on cardiovascular risk factors in older patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a 6-month exercise rehabilitation program can improve cardiovascular risk factors in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). METHODS: Thirty-four patients (mean age, 68 +/- 8 years; range 54-84 years) with PAOD with intermittent claudication (Fontaine stage II) and 14 longitudinal controls of comparable age with stage II PAOD enrolled in an exercise intervention at the University Medical Center and Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Baltimore, Maryland. The main outcome measures were lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C]), fasting glucose, blood pressure, body mass index, treadmill times to onset and maximal claudication pain, cardiopulmonary function (peak oxygen uptake), and ankle/brachial index. RESULTS: With exercise rehabilitation, treadmill times to onset and maximal claudication pain increased by 106% and 64% (P <.0001), whereas peak oxygen uptake increased 7% (P <.05). Exercise rehabilitation lowered total cholesterol and LDL-C levels by 5.2% (P <.005) and 8% (P <.01), respectively. Systolic blood pressure declined by 5.7% (P <.05) with no change in diastolic blood pressure. These changes in cholesterol and LDL-C concentrations were related to their initial values. All other cardiovascular risk factors measured did not change. There was no correlation between improvement of cardiovascular risk factors and functional performance measurements. None of the variables measured changed significantly in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise rehabilitation not only improves functional performance, but also results in favorable alterations in cardiovascular risk factor profile, which is an important element in the management of PAOD.