(March 3, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

A standard test for peripheral artery disease fails to identify those without cardiovascular disease who might benefit from aspirin therapy, according to a trial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Here is some information about peripheral artery disease:

•    It refers to the presence of disease, and often narrowing, of blood vessels outside of the heart and brain

•    The presence of peripheral artery disease usually means there is also disease in the coronary arteries and the arteries that feed the brain, or that the person is at high risk for developing disease there

•    Ankle brachial index, or ABI, is a common test used to identify peripheral artery disease. A low ABI suggests the presence of the condition.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh randomly assigned nearly 29,000 individuals aged 50 to 75 to take a daily dose of 100 mg of aspirin a day or a placebo. The participants had no known cardiovascular disease, but they did have a low ABI.

After following the participants for an average of more than 8 years, the rate at which they experienced a coronary event, a stroke, or the need to have a procedure to open blocked coronary arteries was similar for both groups. The groups were also similar with respect to the rate of vascular events in general as well as death rates from any cause.

Today's research calls into question the usefulness of screening individuals without cardiovascular disease using ABI, at least for the purposes of identifying those who might benefit from aspirin therapy.