Key result
Just 61% of symptomatic PAD patients receive lipid-lowering therapy at hospital admission.
Why the study?
What proportion of patients with symptomatic PAD receive cholesterol-lowering therapy and achieve guideline-directed LDL-C targets in real-world practice?
Cross-Sectional (n=884)
Yes
What proportion of patients with symptomatic PAD receive cholesterol-lowering therapy and achieve guideline-directed LDL-C targets in real-world practice?
There is a significant real-world gap in the implementation of guideline-directed cholesterol-lowering therapy for patients with symptomatic PAD, with very few achieving recommended LDL-C targets.
Summary: Background: Several studies have shown LDL-Cholesterol to be a main risk-factor in the development of atherosclerosis and that the reduction of LDL-Cholesterol leads to a substantial decrease in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Patients with proven PAD are considered to be at very high risk for cardiovascular events and a reduction of LDL-Cholesterol to 55 mg/dl and to 50% of the baseline is recommended in this population. Material and methods: Patients with symptomatic PAD from 7 Vascular Surgery Centres in Germany were included in the study. It was assessed if the patients were on Cholesterol-lowering drugs at admission and the Cholesterol und LDL-Cholesterol levels upon admission were obtained. A total of 884 patients were included in the analysis. Results: Only 537 (61%) patients were on Cholesterol-lowering drug therapy. In this subgroup, Cholesterol levels ≤ 100 mg/dl were found in 384 cases (72%), ≤ 70 mg/dl in 191 (36%) and ≤ 55 mg/dl in 87 (16%) of cases. Conclusions: Despite overwhelming evidence for the beneficial effects of adequate LDL-Cholesterol reduction, only 61% of PAD-patients were on Cholesterol-lowering drug therapy and only 16% achieved the LDL-Cholesterol levels advocated inn recent guidelines. The vascular community must undertake a bigger effort to implement Cholesterol-lowering drug therapy in PAD patients.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Hamers et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (n=884). Cholesterol-lowering drug therapy vs. No cholesterol-lowering drug therapy was evaluated on Proportion of patients on cholesterol-lowering drug therapy at admission. Among patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease, only 61% were on cholesterol-lowering therapy at admission, and only 16% of treated patients achieved LDL-cholesterol levels ≤ 55 mg/dl.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: