Association of Asymptomatic Coronary Heart Disease in Patients Presented with Peripheral Arterial Disease Undergoing Angiography

Abstract

Objective: Association of coronary artery disease in peripheral artery disease patients.

Study Design: Retrospective observational study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Iraqi Center of Heart Disease, Iraq from 1st April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

Methods: This is a retrospective observational study, with 300 peripheral arterial disease patients with computerized tomography angiography and/or peripheral angiography at the Iraqi Center of Heart Disease, Iraq and none of them had any previous symptoms and/or had ever experienced coronary artery disease. Asymptomatic coronary artery disease was detected by means of comprehensive checks, such as electrocardiogram, echocardiography, and coronary angiography.

Results: The silent coronary artery disease was high with 72% of patients having peripheral arterial disease. Diabetes mellitus was also significantly correlated as 77.4% patients with coronary artery disease were asymptomatic (p= 0.008). Another highly predictive factor was reduced ejection fraction; 84.7% of ejection fraction less than 50% individuals had coronary artery disease (p=0.0001). Patients with coronary artery disease were more likely to develop lower limb peripheral arterial disease (83.2, p=0.0001). The age factor also predisposed the possibility of identifying asymptomatic coronary artery disease, and the risk was also elevating at a steady rate, 0.0512/year.

Conclusion: A significant load of asymptomatic coronary artery disease in peripheral arterial disease patients, including older people, diabetics and low-ejection-fraction. Cardiovascular screening should be a routine in this high-risk group in order to prevent the emergence of complications i the future and better the clinical outcomes.