Patients undergoing percutaneous peripheral interventions are at increased risk for thrombotic complications hence the routine use of periprocedural anticoagulants. There is currently no American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for periprocedural anticoagulants use in percutaneous peripheral interventions. Historically, unfractionated heparin has been the most common periprocedural anticoagulant used during percutaneous peripheral interventions. There may be a role for more predictable periprocedural anticoagulants in percutaneous peripheral interventions as has been demonstrated in percutaneous coronary interventions. Our review focuses on the evidence supporting the use of bivalirudin in percutaneous peripheral interventions.
Keywords: bivalirudin; carotid artery stenting; glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors; heparin; percutaneous peripheral interventions; peripheral arterial disease.