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Traditional cardiac risk factors are useful in predicting the 10- to 20-year risk for cardiovascular disease but relatively ineffective at predicting events in the short term. An observational, prospective study of patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) was conducted to determine the association between selected biomarker levels and death <3 years after their measurement. Participants were consecutive patients with lower-extremity PAD, defined as an ankle-brachial index <0.9. Blood samples, obtained at baseline and at annual follow-up visits, were analyzed for serum amyloid A, C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, and total and HDL cholesterol.
Of 377 patients followed-up for 4 years, 76 (20%) died. Decedents were older than survivors …