Ankle Brachial Index – simple noninvasive estimator of Peripheral Artery Disease

Authors: Marcin Pieniak, Krzysztof Cieślicki, Marek Żyliński, Piotr Górski, Agnieszka Murgrabia, Gerard Cybulski

According to international guidelines, patients with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) are burdened with high cardiovascular risk. One of the simplest, non-invasive method for PAD detection is the ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurement. The ankle-brachial index ABI is calculated as the ratio of systolic blood pressure at the ankle (pressure at posterior tibial artery or the dorsal artery) to the systolic pressure at the arm (in the brachial artery) in horizontal body position. Physiological value of the ABI is assumed to be between 1 and 1.3, however, these limits vary from study to study. The value less than 0.9 indicate PAD. Some authors propose also measuring the ABI at both sides of the body to highlight possible differences of blood pressure in the opposite arterial segments.
The aim of this study was to perform the meta-analysis of the ABI diagnostic criterions, used in different studies. Additionally, some ABI measurements were performed on 19 healthy patients in age ranged from 20 to 63 years. Obtained results showed a slight dependence on age and the differences between the values obtained from the left and right sides of the body.