A study of cardioprotective medication prescribing in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) has highlighted areas of deficiency, namely for women and Māori men. The study assessed 2547 patients who had undergone PAD-related percutaneous and surgical intervention between 2010 and 2021 in the Midland region of New Zealand. Overall, 80.7% of patients received a prescription for antihypertensive medication, 77.4% for lipid-lowering medication and 89.9% for antithrombotic medication. Patients with concomitant ischaemic heart disease were more likely to be prescribed cardioprotective medication. Women were less likely to be prescribed lipid-lowering medication than men, while Māori men were less likely to be prescribed antiplatelet medication compared with non-Māori men. Lipid-lowering and antiplatelet medication showed a survival advantage on univariate analysis, while antihypertensive and anticoagulant medication did not. Best medical therapy was associated with better survival after adjustment for age, sex, end stage renal failure and presence of chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (hazard ratio 0.88, 95% CI 0.79-0.98).
