University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute Specialist Chairs AHA/ACC Committee on New PAD Guidelines

Innovations in Cardiovascular Medicine & Surgery | June 2024

Experts from University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute have played a pivotal role in writing new guidelines for the management of patients with lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD is underrecognized and undertreated compared to other cardiovascular diseases. PAD is also a leading cause of amputation, along with impairment of walking abilities and quality of life. The new guidelines cover multiple clinical presentation subsets, including asymptomatic, chronic symptomatic, chronic limb-threatening ischemia, and acute limb ischemia.

Heather Gornick, MD

Vascular medicine specialist Heather Gornik, MD, Co-Director of the Vascular Center, Director of the Fibromuscular Dysplasia & Arterial Dissection Program and John B. Lally Family Master Clinician in Fibromuscular Dysplasia and Vascular Care at UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, served as chair of the guideline writing committee convened by the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC).

Mehdi Shishehbor, DO, MPH, PhD

Castro Dominguez, MD

“I am incredibly proud to have been able to participate in developing these guidelines – a process that was four years in the making. Our goal is that this document will be used to implement the highest quality, evidence-based care for patients with PAD throughout the United States,” says Dr. Gornik. “I am also proud of the strong participation of colleagues here at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute in helping to move this initiative ahead.”

Interventional cardiologist Mehdi Shishehbor, DO, MPH, PhD, President and the Angela and James Hambrick Chair in Innovation at UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, also contributed valuable expertise as a member of the guideline writing committee, while Yulanka Castro Dominguez, MD, vascular medicine specialist at UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, aided the process as a peer reviewer.