"Restoring blood flow may be best option to save your life and limb"
Treatments that restore blood flow to the lower limbs of people with a serious circulation condition may be cheaper and associated with longer survival, than amputation according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association. This is the first study to investigate long-term outcomes and costs associated with treating first major critical limb ischemia. Researchers estimated that 29 percent of patients diagnosed with critical limb ischemia either will die or have an amputation performed within the first year, and many will undergo several revascularization procedures during the median 3.5-year survival period of the study. Considerable efforts are still needed to raise disease awareness and establish data that can guide further medical and procedural management given the critical importance of limb ischemia.
— Robert Lookstein, MD, Professor, Radiology, Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Executive Vice Chair, Department of Diagnostic, Molecular, and Interventional Radiology, Mount Sinai Health System