VIENNA, Austria, September 5 /PRNewswire/ --

- New analyses presented in Europe for the first time underscores REACH
implications for individuals with leg artery blockages

- Findings suggest the need for earlier, more aggressive therapeutic
intervention

New analyses from the REACH Registry presented at the European Society of
Cardiology Congress 2007 underscore the REACH Registry 1-year results first
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in March 2007.
Outpatients with atherothrombosis have a surprisingly high risk of death or
major cardiovascular illness, especially in the over 25 million patients
internationally who have peripheral arterial disease (PAD), or
atherothrombosis in the leg arteries.

Researchers evaluated the data from the Registry, which represents the
largest international population with PAD ever studied. Patients with PAD
suffer very high rates of heart attack, stroke or death, and very high rates
of hospitalization. These data again highlight that establishing the PAD
diagnosis identifies a very high risk which is known to improve when the
diagnosis is linked to guideline-mandated risk reduction therapies. Lead
author Dr. Alan T. Hirsch, professor of epidemiology and community health at
the University of Minnesota School of Public Health; and director of the
Minneapolis Heart Institute's vascular medicine program at Abbott
Northwestern's Vascular Center in Minneapolis, Minn., presented the results
today.

Dr. Hirsch noted, "PAD has long been known to represent a form of artery
disease that carries a high risk. The international REACH Registry
demonstrates that this cardiovascular risk in patients with PAD remains
remarkable in every nation, and is undoubtedly associated with a high
personal, family, community, and public health cost. One in three individuals
with PAD in office practice face a short-term chance of dying, having a heart
attack or stroke or being hospitalized within two years. One in ten will die
in this short time frame. Therefore initiating therapy without delay to
reduce this risk is essential."

Despite improved PAD awareness, treatment and diagnosis during the past
five years, Hirsch and investigators hypothesized that cardiovascular disease
event rates would remain high, and that complacency in treating this disease
was not merited. The analysis of international individuals enrolled in REACH
found this to be true. All individuals with PAD, regardless of symptom status
or past use of leg angioplasty or leg bypass remained at high risk.

"The REACH Registry continues to demonstrate the real-world burden of
atherothrombotic disease worldwide. In the case of PAD, further analysis has
re-emphasized the need for doctors to adhere to evidence-based guidelines for
treatment like long-term antiplatelet therapy with aspirin or clopidogrel,"
said Dr. Gabriel Steg, professor of cardiology at Hopital Bichat-Claude
Bernard, Paris, on behalf of the REACH Registry's Scientific Council. "But
first diagnosis must happen earlier and to do this the tools need to be more
readily available and reimbursed, especially in Europe."

Details on Hirsch Analysis

Results: REACH enrolled 8581 individuals with PAD, by asymptomatic
ABI<0.9 alone (8%); claudication (65%); prior limb revascularization (50%);
or amputation (13%). Risk factors were prevalent (diabetes 44%, current
smoking 24%, hypercholesterolemia 66%). Antiplatelet (81%), antihypertensive
(87%), antidiabetic (40%), and lipid-lowering therapies (70%) were
well-utilized. Non-fatal CV disease events and mortality remained high
(Table). Leg angioplasty, vascular bypass, or amputation occurred at annual
rates of 7.6%, 5.3%, and 2.8%, respectively.

In addition to the analysis on PAD, REACH investigators presented posters
on other sub-analyses during the European Society of Cardiology Congress
2007:

-- "Cardiovascular events of Asian patients at high risk of
       atherothrombosis compared with the rest of the world: Results from the
       REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry" 
       S. Goto, Y. Ikeda, JCN. Chan, PWF. Wilson, R. Zambahari, T-C. Yeo, 
       C-S. Liau, TB. Abola, PG. Steg, DL. Bhatt

    -- "International variation in the rates of vascular hospitalizations in
       patients at risk of atherothrombosis: Results from the REACH Registry
       for U.S., France, and Germany" E M. Mahoney, K. Wang, DJ. Cohen, F.
       Mosse, J. Jackson, DL. Bhatt, PG. Steg, G. De Pouvourville

    -- "Cardiovascular risk profile and outcome of patients with an abdominal
       aortic aneurysm in the REACH Registry" Baumgartner, AT. Hirsch, TB.
       Abola, PP. Cacoub, D. Poldermans, PG. Steg, MA. Creager, K. Eagle, DL.
       Bhatt

Objectives and Scope of REACH

The overall aim of the REACH Registry is to improve the assessment and
management of stroke, heart attack and associated risk factors for
atherothrombosis. It is the largest and most geographically extensive global
registry of patients at risk of atherothrombosis, having recruited over
68,000 patients in 44 countries, covering six regions - Latin America, Asia,
the Middle East, Australia, Europe and North America - and involving over
5,000 physician investigators.

The REACH Registry includes a broad spectrum of patients with
atherothrombosis - documenting the health status and treatment of people at
risk of atherothrombosis; monitoring how they are affected; and measuring the
burden of the disease. Patients included in the REACH Registry either have
several of the risk factors that can lead to atherothrombosis, such as, high
cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes, or have a previous
history of heart attack, stroke or PAD. Participation in the REACH Registry
is strictly voluntary.

In addition, the REACH Registry is based in a real-life setting and seeks
to increase overall understanding of atherothrombotic disease across several
medical specialities (cardiology, neurology, internal medicine, vascular
medicine and office-based primary care physicians), which allows for a more
thorough assessment of the real-world burden of the disease.

The Underlying Cause of Heart Attack, Stroke and PAD

Atherothrombosis occurs when a blood clot (thrombus) forms on a ruptured
plaque (atheroma) in the wall of a blood vessel. Plaques consist of fatty
acids and cholesterol, calcium and other materials.

The rupture of plaques and the subsequent development of a clot can cause
partial or complete blockage of an artery in various parts of the body. When
a vessel in the heart is partially or completely blocked by a clot the result
can be a heart attack. In the brain, the same process can cause a stroke.
Elsewhere in the body, this process can lead to reduction or blockage of
blood flow in the arteries of the legs - PAD - a significant risk factor for
heart attack or stroke.

Atherothrombosis is thus the common thread linking heart attack, stroke
and peripheral arterial disease.

Notes to Editors:

REACH Registry

The REACH Registry is the first outpatient registry to characterize
real-world event rates and treatment patterns in a broad spectrum of patients
with atherothrombosis worldwide. The Registry follows more than 60,000
patients over 4 years, involving 44 countries and 5,000 physician
investigators. The REACH Registry aims to improve the assessment and
management of patients with a history of coronary artery disease (CAD),
cerebrovascular disease (Stroke/TIA), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and
those with a combination of high risk factors.

The REACH Registry is sponsored by Sanofi-Aventis, Bristol-Myers Squibb,
and the Waksman Foundation (Tokyo, Japan), who assisted with the design and
conduct of the study and data collection.

The REACH Registry is endorsed by the World Heart Federation.

REACH Registry Baseline Publication:

DL. Bhatt, PG. Steg, EM. Ohman, AT. Hirsch, Y. Ikeda, JL. Mas, S. Goto,
C-S. Liau, AJ. Richard, J. Rother, PWF. Wilson, on behalf of the REACH
Registry Investigators. International Prevalence, Recognition, and Treatment
of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Outpatients with Atherothrombosis. JAMA
2006;295:180-9.

REACH Registry Scientific Council:

    -- Philippe Gabriel Steg, AP-HP, Hopital Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris,
       France (co-chair)
    -- Deepak L. Bhatt, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, USA (co-chair)
    -- E. Magnus Ohman, Duke University, Durham, USA
    -- Joachim Rother, Universitat-Klinikum Minden, Minden, Germany
    -- Peter F. Wilson, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA

For further information on the REACH Registry please visit
www.REACHRegistry.org

Contact:  
    Chantal Roshetar
    croshetar@ccapr.com, +1-917-605-0173



Web site: http://www.REACHRegistry.org