Vasculopathy

Does Aspirin Therapy Benefit Patients With Peripheral Vascular Disease?

Aspirin may be of no benefit to patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD), according to the results of a recent study.

Although aspirin is considered a staple of care for patients with PVD, its efficacy in preventing ischemic events in these patients is uncertain.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
Aspirin Sensitivity May Mark Severe Asthma
Could Aspirin Slow Progression of Emphysema?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of data from 6560 patients with PVD from 11 trials comparing aspirin with either placebo or control. All0cause mortality and major bleeding were used as the primary efficacy and safety outcomes.

Overall, aspirin was associated with a similar incidence of all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events, myocardial infarction, stroke, major bleeding, and intracranial hemorrhage, compared with control.

“In conclusion, aspirin use in PVD patients might not be associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes,” the researchers wrote.

“However, most of the trials addressing the topic appear to be older trials with unclear risk of bias and outcomes definitions. Thus, larger randomized trials assessing the efficacy and safety of aspirin in the contemporary era of statins use are mandatory to confirm the current findings. The universal recommendation for aspirin therapy among patients with stable PVD needs to be re-examined.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Mahmoud AN, Elgendy AY, Rambarat C, et al. Efficacy and safety of aspirin in patients with peripheral vascular disease: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [published online April 12, 2017]. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175283.