Drug coated balloons represent a promising technology for the endovascular treatment of peripheral artery disease. While the optimal use of intervention for the treatment of peripheral artery disease is still a matter of debate, there are several studies that showed that patients prefer intervention to supervised exercise and that intervention results in quick and durable…
There are several instances to consider anticoagulation for peripheral artery disease. One, is to prevent future events. There are data that show that a small dose of rivaroxaban prevents major adverse cardiovascular events and major adverse limb events. These data also show that anticoagulation is particularly useful in patients after a vascular procedure. A second…
[THIS ARTICLE IS OUTDATED. READ WITH CAUTION] Improving walking in peripheral artery disease patients is the most common reason for treatment. Among patients who do have symptoms, leg pain when walking is the most common symptom. This is also called intermittent claudication. The pain is most often reproducible with repeated walking and resolves after several…
Two novel anticoagulants have gained FDA approval for treatment of venous thromboembolism lately and two more are on their way. While these medications are much easier to take than Coumadin they are not perfect and bleeding is a major concern as with any other anticoagulant. It seems that over the available studies the bleeding profile…
Is more clot always worse than less clot in pulmonary embolism? Pulmonary embolism can be divided into risk categories from low risk to high risk. Being able to predict the outcome of a patient with pulmonary embolism is clinically important. In a previous article I outlined prognostic factors in pulmonary embolism. In this article I…
Blood pressure is not always the same between arms. This is why blood pressure measurement should be done in both arms. Why Should Blood Pressure Measurement be in Both Arms? Measuring blood pressure in both arms serves several purposes. First, it allows the patient time to relax and thus allows for a more accurate blood…
In this week’s literature review we will cover two major topics: Venous thromboembolism and carotid plaque and stroke risk. Do you want to receive our literature reviews to your email? Sign up for our newsletter. Many ways to prevent venous thromboembolism There are many ways to prevent recurrent venous thromboembolism. These include full dose anticoagulation…
Cancer is a known risk factor for venous thromboembolism. Some patients with unprovoked deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism will later develop cancer. In these patients the clot may have been the first manifestation of their cancer. Does this mean that cancer screening after venous thromboembolism is justified? Most data say “no”. Nonetheless, there is…
This week in the vascular literature review: Should you measure an ankle brachial index? How can you tell if a clot is new? and What kind of parasites do kings have? Should the ankle brachial index be used for screening? A new USPTF guideline statement has addressed the matter of screening for peripheral artery disease…
We are announcing a new feature on the site. Every week our editors will be collecting and summarizing interesting vascular related literature from prominent journals and summarizing it for you here in one convenient place. This week in the vascular literature review we will talk about fibromuscular dysplasia, coumadin failure, steroids and venous thromboembolism, pneumatic…
