Comparison of mortality in patients with coronary or peripheral artery disease following the first vascular intervention.

Objectives: Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) less frequently achieve secondary prevention goals compared with patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to compare mortality rates in patients with PAD and CAD following first vascular intervention.

Patients And Methods: Patients 18 years of age or older without a history of cardiovascular disease, who underwent first coronary or lower limb vascular intervention between 2002 and 2010, were included in this study. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality.

Results: Of the 9950 participants, 8242 (82.8%) underwent first coronary revascularization and 1708 (17.2%) received first peripheral vascular intervention. During a mean follow-up period of 5.6±2.3 years, 1283 (12.9%) participants died. Compared with CAD patients, patients with PAD had significantly worse long-term prognosis with an increased risk for all-cause mortality (hazard ratio=2.95, 95% confidence interval 2.6-3.3, P<0.0001). This association remained statistically significant following a multivariable analysis (hazard ratio=1.86, 95% confidence interval 1.6-2.1, P<0.0001). Furthermore, PAD patients were less frequently treated with cardioprotective medications including statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, aspirin, and clopidogrel (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Patients with PAD have worse outcome compared with patients with CAD, even in the specific group of patients following first vascular intervention. These findings demand more effort to improve secondary prevention guidelines in all patients with cardiovascular diseases, but especially in PAD patients.