Effect Of Blood Pressure Lowering Medications On Leg Ischemia In Peripheral Artery Disease Patients: A Meta-Analysis Of Randomised Controlled Trials

BackgroundIt has been suggested that anti-hypertensive medications may worsen leg ischemia in peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients. We undertook a meta-analysis to assess the effect of anti-hypertensive medications on measures of leg ischemia including maximum walking distance (MWD), pain free walking distance (PFWD) and ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI). A meta-regression was performed to evaluate whether the effect of the anti-hypertensive medications on mean arterial pressure (MAP) was associated with changes in ABPI, MWD or PFWD.MethodA systematic literature search was performed to identify placebo controlled randomized control trials (RCT) testing anti-hypertensive medications, which reported baseline and follow-up measurements of: MAP and MWD, PFWD or ABPI in patients with intermittent claudication (IC) due to PAD.ResultA meta-analysis was performed on 5 RCTs comprising a total of 180 and 127 patients receiving anti-hypertensive medications and placebo respectively. This analysis suggested that anti-hypertensive medication did not significantly affect MWD, PFWD or ABPI. In contrast, the meta-regression analysis showed that the reduction in MAP due to the anti-hypertensive drugs was positively correlated with increased MWD during follow-up (beta = 8.371, p = 0.035). Heterogeneity across studies, as assessed by I-2, was high. The follow-up period within the included trials was generally short with 3 out of 5 studies having a follow-up period of < 6 weeks.ConclusionThis study suggests that anti-hypertensive treatment does not worsen but may improve leg ischemia in PAD patients. Larger multicenter trials with longer anti-hypertensive treatment periods are required to clarify the effect of anti-hypertensives on leg ischemia in PAD patients.