Patients with symptomatic PAD, like Alex, often suffer from leg pain that starts while walking and may cause the patient to stop and rest. For some, rest will not help to clear the symptoms; for others, the pain may start at rest. In some cases, these leg symptoms can prevent the patient from walking at a fast pace, walking long distances or climbing stairs, leading to loss of mobility and disruption of their daily activities.
Although she has never had a major cardiovascular event, Valerie has a number of co-morbidities and lifestyle-related risk factors that mean she is at high risk of such events. Conversely, her medical history indicates that she is at low risk of the occurrence of a bleeding event.
Beatrice is now taking several steps to reduce her cardiovascular risk, but she is still worried about losing her leg or having a stroke. Is there more that can be done to protect Beatrice from major adverse cardiovascular and limb events?
Unfortunately, ignoring the symptoms of lower limb ischaemia will not make the pain go away. As many as 1 in 20 patients suffering from PAD-induced claudication experience a worsening of their lower limb pain within 2 years, with a similar number of these patients requiring a peripheral angioplasty or stenting over the same timeframe.
For the first time in its 69-year history, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) had to cancel its annual congress, which was scheduled to take place on 28-30 March 2020 in Chicago, together with the World Congress of Cardiology (WCC). However, these societies rose to the challenge by converting the congress into an entirely virtual and free meeting: ACC.20/WCC Virtual.
In 2019, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) published new clinical practice guidelines on the management of ‘chronic coronary syndromes’ (CCS). The ESC has never published guidelines on CCS before, so what is this new condition?
The 2019 meeting of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) saw the release of several new clinical practice guidelines, providing valuable advice on best practice to clinicians around Europe. Of particular interest for many cardiologists were the guidelines on the management of ‘chronic coronary syndromes’ (CCS),1 which replaced the previous guidelines on stable coronary artery disease (CAD).
This year saw several major changes in how arterial diseases are perceived and treated. By revising terminology from stable coronary artery disease (CAD) to chronic coronary syndromes and introducing new guidance for high-risk patients, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has recognised that enhanced protection with vascular dose rivaroxaban plus aspirin could offer patients a more certain future without fear of a devastating cardiovascular (CV) event. Furthermore, several new guidelines for the treatment of PAD were published in 2019 giving clinicians a new standard of care and a different approach to preserve limbs, prevent life-threatening events and save lives. But what informed these changes in guidance and how will practice be affected?