For patients with peripheral arterial disease, the mainstay of initial treatment is always risk factor modification, ambulation, and compliance with guideline-based medical therapies. However, for patients who have lifestyle limiting claudication or have progressed to critical limb ischemia (CLI), intervention is warranted.

Improving access is at the center of a pair of new trends in treating peripheral artery disease (PAD). First is the office-based lab (OBL) expanding access to more PAD patients needing therapy, and the second is physicians more often choosing alternative access such as radial, tibial or pedal to treat those patients. Why now?

The patient was a 77-year old diabetic with an ulcer on her big toe. There was almost no blood flow to the foot, and she was in terrible pain. Her podiatrist had sent her to the hospital. The nurses who initially checked the foot had seen cases like this plenty of times. If the woman was lucky, the surgeon might be able to amputate the foot and save the rest of the leg below the knee.

As recently as eight months ago, cardiologists sitting down to work with medical images at Novant Health had plenty of choices on where and how to go about that part of their jobs.

In February and March 2020, the inevitable happened: COVID-19 came to the United States, hitting the country’s healthcare system like a 10-pound sledgehammer. 

The Cardiovascular Business team embarked on this survey to gain a deeper understanding of the current state of cardiovascular health, the role CVIS plays and the goals cardiovascular leaders have established for the next few years.

Meet the Respondents

This report offers a snapshot of what health system and cardiovascular leaders think. Some of it validates, while some enlightens. It all helps
guide leadership on a data-rich and insightful journey into the future.