Peripheral Artery Disease and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Examining a High-Risk Cohort Over Time

Patients with PAD on VA-ECMO are sicker at baseline and experience significantly greater major amputations and higher in-hospital mortality. They have not benefitted from the considerable decrease in complication rates and increase in survival to discharge over time as compared to their non-PAD counterparts. These findings demonstrate the substantial frailty of the PAD population within an already high-risk cohort, and highlight the need for better procedural approaches and innovative technologies.