Providers

Direct link to article: https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/cathlab/content/mississippi-delta-miracle-angiographic-screening-yields-dramatic-reduction-amputations Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a circulatory deficiency prevalent among the aging global population, with an estimated 202 million cases worldwide and 18 million in the United States in 2010.1,2 To identify patients with PAD, early screening is absolutely crucial, allowing timely and appropriate treatment to commence. Delays in treatment, as well as insufficient therapeutic methods, lead to a greater risk of amputation and significantly higher economic costs. As of 2015, the annual economic burden of PAD in the U.S. exceeded diabetes, coronary artery disease, and cancer.3 Contrary to recent U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations4 declaring insufficient evidence for the benefit of ankle-brachial index (ABI) screening, research worldwide over two decades has shown that PAD is a commonly neglected condition, is effectively detected by ABI, and is strongly correlated with and an independent predictor of mortality in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.5–9 Among patients with PAD in their lower limbs, 1-3% will likely develop critical limb ischemia (CLI), the most advanced and deadly form of the disease.2 The burden of PAD is growing with increased life expectancy: 21 million Americans are predicted to have the disease by 2020, and in Europe, Germany reports not only an increase