Surmodics Helps Make Safer, More Comfortable PAD Treatment Options Available to More Women

April 30, 2024 at 5:30 PM EDT

Surmodics Helps Make Safer, More Comfortable PAD Treatment Options Available to More Women

Eden Prairie, Minn. — April 30, 2024 — May is Women’s Health Month and a safer, more comfortable treatment option called radial access is now available to more women with peripheral artery disease (PAD), in part thanks to vascular intervention tools from Surmodics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRDX).

An estimated 21 million Americans live with PAD,1 a progressive condition that can block blood flow to the legs, making walking painful and potentially endangering health. The prevalence of PAD is similar or higher in women compared with men, yet it is underdiagnosed and undertreated in women.2

With radial access, devices are inserted into the radial artery of the wrist. The devices can then reach and treat, or deliver devices to treat, blocked arteries as far away as the lower legs or feet. Currently, fewer women than men receive treatment through radial access,3 in part due to fewer tools that can accommodate their smaller radial arteries.4

“We know that women often are underrepresented in clinical research and that gender differences occur in diagnosis and treatment across a broad spectrum of conditions,” said Teri Sides, president of Surmodics’ Vascular Interventions business. “In the case of peripheral arterial diseases, we’ve created new tools that navigate the vasculature of smaller individuals, helping expand treatment options for women.”

Today, most PAD procedures are still performed through the large femoral artery in the patient’s groin, but a randomized study of patients who have had both groin and wrist (radial) access in coronary procedures showed that 87% preferred wrist access.5

Compared with traditional groin access, radial access allows most patients to walk sooner after their procedure and go home earlier, typically without an overnight stay. Studies have also shown that radial access has a lower risk of unintended bleeding and other complications.6

“Radial access has been used for many years for heart procedures and now thanks to advances in new technology, adoption is growing for peripheral procedures.” said Sides. The Sublime™ 5 Fr Radial Access Guide Sheath from Surmodics makes radial access possible for more patients of smaller stature. The average diameter of the left radial artery in women is 2.4 millimeters.7 The Sublime 5 Fr Radial Access Guide Sheath’s outer diameter is less than 2.4 millimeters.*

In 2012, the American Heart Association (AHA) issued a “call to action” specifically aimed at prioritizing PAD research, education and care for women.8 A decade later, the AHA’s 2022 PAD National Action Plan stated PAD prevalence in the U.S. could triple in the next three decades unless effective prevention strategies are implemented.9

"Clearly, there’s more work to do in advancing PAD diagnosis and care,” said Sides. “Anytime our innovations can address healthcare needs in an underserved population, all the better. During Women's Health Month, we want to expand awareness among women of vascular procedure options that now are available to them thanks to appropriately sized tools that can be deployed in procedures involving people of smaller stature."

*5 Fr size (outer diameter 2.26 mm), up to 150 cm in length

  1. Yost ML. PAD and the Economics of Major Amputation. Endovascular Today. 2021;20(5):48-49.
  2. Pabon M, Cheng S, Elissa Altin S, et. al. Sex Differences in Peripheral Artery Disease. Circ Res. 2022;130:496-511.
  3. Atwal D, Butterfield RJ, Lewis B, Yang EH. The effects of operator experience on use of transradial access in female patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020;75(11).
  4. Minor RL. Radial to Peripheral in Women With Small Radial Arteries: 5 French Access for Endovascular Therapy in Femoral, Iliac, Renal, Subclavian and Carotid Artery Disease. Cath Lab Digest. September 2023.
  5. Cooper CJ, El-Shiekh RA, Cohen DJ, et al. Effect of transradial access on quality of life and cost of cardiac catheterization: a randomized comparison. Am Heart J. 1999;138(3):430-436.
  6. Mason PJ, Shah B, Tamis-Holland JE, et al. An update on radial artery access and best practices for transradial coronary angiography and intervention in acute coronary syndrome: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2018;11(9):e000035.
  7. Roberts JS, Niu J. An Ultrasound Survey of the Radial and Ulnar Arteries in an American Population: Implications for Transradial Access. J Invasive Cardiol. 2023;35(3).
  8. Hirsch AT, Allison MA, Gomes AS, et al. A call to action: women and peripheral artery disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2012; 125:1449-1472.
  9. PAD National Action Plan, American Heart Association. May 2022. Accessible at: heart.org/PADActionPlan

About Surmodics, Inc.

Surmodics is a leading provider of performance coating technologies for intravascular medical devices and chemical and biological components for in vitro diagnostic immunoassay tests and microarrays. Surmodics also develops and commercializes highly differentiated vascular intervention medical devices that are designed to address unmet clinical needs and engineered to the most demanding requirements. This key growth strategy leverages the combination of the Company’s expertise in proprietary surface modification and drug-delivery coating technologies, along with its device design, development, and manufacturing capabilities. The Company’s mission is to improve the detection and treatment of disease. Surmodics is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. For more information, visit www.surmodics.com. The content of Surmodics’ website is not part of this press release or part of any filings that the company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

###

Surmodics Investor Inquiries:
Jack Powell, Investor Relations
ir@surmodics.com