Antiplatelet therapy to prevent cardiovascular events and mortality in patients with intermittent claudication.

CLINICAL QUESTION: Do antiplatelet therapies reduce risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, and cardiovascular events in patients with intermittent claudication? Which antiplatelet is most strongly associated with a reduced risk of all-cause and CVD mortality? BOTTOM LINE: In patients with intermittent claudication, antiplatelet therapies are associated with lower all-cause and CVD mortality compared with placebo. Compared with all antiplatelet therapies, the strongest evidence exists for thienopyridines, such as clopidogrel.