More than 200 million people worldwide have peripheral artery disease (PAD) and more than 1-in-10 have a severe form of PAD known as chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI), putting them at risk of leg amputation, cardiovascular disease and death. Two forms of treatment — surgical bypass (Bypass) and endovascular therapy (Endo) — are commonly used to restore blood flow to the leg, but it has been largely unknown which treatment approach leads to better outcomes for patients. A randomized, multicenter, international clinical trial led by investigators from Mass General Brigham’s founding members, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Boston Medical Center (BMC), compared important clinical, patient experience and cost outcomes for the two approaches. The results of the BEST-CLI trial were simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
