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Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is associated with increased mortality and concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD). However, it is unclear whether uncovering the presence of functional coronary ischemia by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) would further help stratifying that excess risk. From January 2000 to 2009, 4294 individuals underwent cardiac stress testing within 180 days of ankle–brachial index (ABI) measurements. Of these, 645 had PAD and SPECT MPI stress testing. Abnormal ABI was defined as ⩽0.9 or prior lower extremity arterial revascularization. Myocardial ischemic burden and total jeopardized myocardium were represented by the summed difference score (SDS) and summed stress score (SSS), respectively. Univariate and multivariable Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to study the impact of SDS and SSS on all-cause mortality. Additionally, using a hierarchical approach, we examined the step-wise addition of post-stress test coronary and lower extremity arterial revascularizations as time-varying covariates on outcomes. We found no significant difference in all-cause mortality between patients with ischemic myocardium (SDS>0) and those without (SDS=0) (adjusted HR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.53–1.69; p=0.84). Similarly, the presence of jeopardized myocardium (SSS>0) did not have a significant impact on mortality (adjusted HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.67–2.00; p=0.59). Moreover, adjustment for post-testing coronary and lower extremity arterial revascularizations did not affect our results. In conclusion, ischemic and jeopardized myocardia are not predictors of all-cause mortality in PAD; thus, SPECT MPI does not appear to be a useful risk stratification tool in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inflammation and immune dysregulation have been associated with adverse outcomes in cardiovascular disease. There is limited understanding of the association of different profiles of white blood cell (WBC) subsets and red cell distribution width (RDW) in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). Methods: Patients with CLTI undergoing endovascular revascularization in our single-center, tertiary care hospital from 2017 to 2019, who had a preceding complete blood count (CBC) with WBC differentials (n =213), were included in the analysis. Patient characteristics, laboratory values, and clinical outcomes were collected. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess for associations between all-cause mortality and leukocyte subset; multivariate analysis was used to account for confounders. Kaplan–Meier curves were generated to depict survival censored at 1 year postrevascularization using baseline CBC indices. Results: Adjusting for confounders, elevated RDW was associated with increased mortality (continuous per % increase, adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.33, p < 0.001). Baseline lymphopenia was associated with mortality in univariate analysis. Other leukocyte subtypes were not associated with mortality outcomes in our population. Exploratory analysis showed negative deflections in ∆WBC from pre- to postprocedure day 1 were affiliated with increased mortality when adjusted for age, sex, race, chronic kidney disease, and baseline hemoglobin (∆WBC HR 1.16, p = 0.004). Further exploratory analysis showed an association between RDW and all-comers readmission. Conclusions: The utilization of a periprocedural WBC subset differential can be a useful adjunct to risk-stratify patients with CLTI undergoing endovascular revascularization. Further studies are needed to understand potential ways to modulate immune dysregulation so as to improve mortality outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]