Current Medical Therapy and Revascularization in Peripheral Artery Disease of the Lower Limbs: Impacts on Subclinical Chronic Inflammation

Peripheral artery disease (PAD), coronary artery disease (CAD), and cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) are characterized by atherosclerosis and inflammation as their underlying mechanisms. This paper aims to conduct a literature review on pharmacotherapy for PAD, specifically focusing on how different drug classes target pro-inflammatory pathways. The goal is to enhance the choice of therapeutic plans by considering their impact on the chronic subclinical inflammation that is associated with PAD development and progression. We conducted a comprehensive review of currently published original articles, narratives, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. The aim was to explore the relationship between PAD and inflammation and evaluate the influence of current pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions on the underlying chronic subclinical inflammation. Our findings indicate that the existing treatments have added anti-inflammatory properties that can potentially delay or prevent PAD progression and improve outcomes, independent of their effects on traditional risk factors. Although inflammation-targeted therapy in PAD shows promising potential, its benefits have not been definitively proven yet. However, it is crucial not to overlook the pleiotropic properties of the currently available treatments, as they may provide valuable insights for therapeutic strategies. Further studies focusing on the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of these treatments could enhance our understanding of the mechanisms contributing to the residual risk in PAD and pave the way for the development of novel therapies

COMPASS criteria applied to a contemporary cohort of unselected patients with stable coronary artery diseases: insights from the START registry

Aims Recently, the cardiovascular outcomes for people using anticoagulation strategies (COMPASS) trial demonstrated that dual therapy reduced cardiovascular outcomes compared with aspirin alone in patients with stable atherosclerotic disease. Methods and We sought to assess the proportion of patients eligible for the COMPASS trial and to compare the epidemiology results and outcome of these patients with those without COMPASS inclusion or with any exclusion criteria in a contemporary, nationwide cohort of patients with stable coronary artery disease. Among the 4068 patients with detailed information allowing evaluation of eligibility, 1416 (34.8%) did not fulfil the inclusion criteria (COMPASS-Not-Included), 841 (20.7%) had exclusion criteria (COMPASS-Excluded), and the remaining 1811 (44.5%) were classified as COMPASS-Like. At 1 year, the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke, was 0.9% in the COMPASS-Not-Included and 2.0% in the COMPASS-Like (P = 0.01), and 5.0% in the COMPASS-Excluded group (P < 0.0001 for all comparisons). Among the COMPASS-Like population, patients with multiple COMPASS enrichment criteria presented a significant increase in the risk of MACE (from 1.0% to 3.3% in those with 1 and >_3 criteria, respectively; P = 0.012), and a modest absolute increase in major bleeding risk (from 0.2% to 0.4%, respectively; P = 0.46). Conclusion In a contemporary real-world cohort registry of stable coronary artery disease, most patients resulted as eligible for the COMPASS. These patients presented a considerable annual risk of MACE that consistently increases in the presence of multiple risk factors

Prevalence and predictive role of hypertriglyceridemia in statin-treated patients at very high risk: Insights from the START study

Background and aim: Elevated triglyceride (TG) levels seem to identify subjects at increased cardiovascular risk, independent of LDL-C levels. We sought to evaluate the predictive role of hypertriglyceridemia, defined as TG levels ≥150 mg/dl, in very high risk (VHR) patients with chronic coronary syndromes (CCS) treated with statins. Methods and results: Using the data from the STable Coronary Artery Diseases RegisTry (START) study, an Italian nationwide registry, we assessed the association between the TG levels and baseline clinical characteristics, pharmacological treatment and major adverse cardio-cerebrovascular events (MACCE) at 1 year in a large cohort of statin-treated patients at VHR. Of the 4751 consecutive patients with CCS enrolled in the registry and classified as VHR, 2652 (55.8%) had TG values available (mean 120.6 ± 54.9) and were treated with at least a statin at baseline: 2019 (76.1%) with TG < 150 and 633 (23.9%) with TG ≥ 150 mg/dl. At 1 year from enrolment, MACCE occurred in 168 (6.3%) patients, without differences between the two groups of TG (5.9 vs 7.6%; p = 0.14). At multivariable analysis, hypertriglyceridemia did not result as independent predictor of the MACCE (hazard ratio: 1.16; 95% confidence intervals: 0.82–1.64; p = 0.42). Conclusions: In the present large, nationwide cohort of consecutive CCS patients at VHR with statin-controlled LDL-C levels, hypertriglyceridemia was present in around 24% of cases and did not result as predictor of MACCE at 1 year. Further studies with a longer follow-up and larger sample size are needed to better define the prognostic role of TG levels when intensive LDL lowering therapies are used