Abstract 19119: Oxidative Damage in the Gastrocnemius Predicts Mortality Rates in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease

Introduction: Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) experience advancing myopathy in their ischemic legs along with increased functional impairment and increased mortality rates. Myofiber oxidative damage is a central mechanism in the development of PAD myopathy and correlates with degree of functional impairment and decline. Hypothesis: This study evaluated the hypothesis that myofiber oxidative damage in gastrocnemius biopsies from patients with PAD predicts mortality rates. Methods: Oxidative damage was quantified as levels of protein carbonyl groups in the myofibers of gastrocnemius samples obtained from PAD patients. Carbonyl data were grouped into tertiles and the 5-year, all-cause mortality for each tertile was determined by Kaplan-Meier curves and compared by the Modified Peto test. A Cox-regression model was used to control for the effects of clinical characteristics. Results were adjusted for age, sex, race, body mass index, ankle-brachial index, smoking, physical activity, and comorbidi...