Validation of the Academic Research Consortium High Bleeding Risk (ARC-HBR) criteria in patients undergoing peripheral endovascular interventions

It remains unclear whether the Academic Research Consortium for High Bleeding Risk (ARC-HBR) criteria could apply to peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients undergoing endovascular therapy (EVT). We sought to evaluate the application of the ARC-HBR criteria to PAD patients undergoing EVT with contemporary drug-coated devices (DCD) for femoropopliteal artery lesions. Between May 2012 and December 2019, 542 consecutive patients undergoing EVT with DCD for femoropopliteal artery lesions were retrospectively analysed. The primary study endpoint was major bleeding events, defined as Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5. Of 542 patients, 435 (80.3%) were stratified into the HBR group. The cumulative 5-year incidence of major bleeding events was significantly higher in the HBR group than in the non-HBR group (31.9% vs 2.3%; p