REACH, PATHOS and SIRIO: indications for managing atherothrombosis

BACKGROUND Atherothrombosis includes a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations (coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral artery disease) and is associated with the main causes of morbility and mortality on a world-wide scale. Thus far, most of the available information on atherothrombosis has been derived especially from randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Due to their strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, RCTs not always provide an accurate view of the entire spectrum of atherosclerotic clinical syndromes and are not fully representative of the real-world situation. Recently, three important observational clinical studies performed in unselected populations (REACH, PATHOS, SIRIO) have described the demographic characteristics, risk profiles, management and prognosis of a very large cohort of patients suffering from atherothrombosis.
AIM OF THE STUDY In this article we focus on the description of the main results of REACH, PATHOS and SIRIO studies and we discuss about their relevance in the daily clinical practice.