Association of Hypertension and Arterial Blood Pressure on Limb and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Symptomatic Peripheral Artery Disease: The EUCLID Trial.

BACKGROUND

Current guidelines recommend aggressive management of hypertension. Recent evidence suggested potential harm with low blood pressure targets in patients with peripheral artery disease. We investigated the association of a history of hypertension and office systolic blood pressure (SBP) with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and major adverse limb events (MALEs).

METHODS AND RESULTS

The EUCLID trial (Examining the Use of Ticagrelor in Peripheral Artery Disease) included 13 885 participants with symptomatic peripheral artery disease; median follow-up was 30 months. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for any MACE, MALE, and MALE including lower extremity revascularization. A clinical history of arterial hypertension was present in 10 857 (78%) participants, and these participants were older and more likely to be female when compared with the 3026 (22%) patients without hypertension. In patients with a history of hypertension, the adjusted hazard ratio for MACE was 0.94, 95% CI, 0.82-1.08; =0.39, and the adjusted hazard ratio for MALE was 1.08, 95% CI, 0.96-1.23; =0.21. During follow-up, average SBP was 135 mm Hg (125-145). Every 10 mmHg increase in SBP>125 mmHg was associated with an increased risk of MACE (HR, 1.10 [95% CI, 1.06-1.14]; <0.001), a marginally increased risk of MALE (HR, 1.07 [95% CI, 1.00-1.15]; =0.062), and an increased risk of MALE/lower extremity revascularization (HR, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.04-1.11]; <0.001). Every decrease in 10 mmHg SBP ≤125 mmHg was associated with an increased risk of MACE (HR, 1.19 [95% CI, 1.09-1.31]; <0.001) but not MALE or MALE/lower extremity revascularization (HR, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.84-1.23], =0.824; HR, 1.04 [95% CI, 0.95-1.13], =0.392, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

History of hypertension was not associated with higher hazard for MACE or MALE in patients with peripheral artery disease. In contrast, there was a higher hazard of MACE in patients with out-of-target low and high SBP. High but not low SBP was associated with an increased risk of ischemic limb events. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01732822.