Atherosclerotic Peripheral Vascular Disease Symposium II

Toe brachial index in middle aged patients with diabetes mellitus type 2: Not just a peripheral issue

“…Similar to earlier reports on PAD (mainly evaluated by ABI) [2,3,5,7,23], patients with diabetes with a low TBI were found to have a higher prevalence of ischemic events. In support of these findings, the present study showed an association between peripheral vascular disease, as established by low TBI, and central vascular disease, defined as increased central arterial stiffness, elevated IMT and presence of carotid plaques.…”

“…Ankle brachial index (ABI) has previously been shown to correlate to cardiovascular comorbidity and its´ benefits has been highlighted, in addition to the Framingham risk score, in clinical practice [2][3][4]. Indeed ABI has been pointed out as one of the most feasible screening methods for cardiovascular disease (CVD) since it is easy to perform and also inexpensive [5,6]. A drawback is the risk of falsely high values due to stiffened, calcified ankle arteries which is mostly found in subjects with diabetes [3,4,7,8].…”

The Ankle-Brachial Index as a Biomarker of Cardiovascular Risk

“…Most often, a single measure is sufficient to diagnose PAD. 3 It is applicable to men and women of all ages and has been tested in numerous ethnicities. The measurement is standardized, and it is both accurate and precise.…”

“…[1][2][3] However, the majority of patients with PAD are asymptomatic; therefore, measurement of the ABI only when prompted by symptoms will result in most cases of PAD going unrecognized. 4 …”

Cost-effectiveness of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm in the Netherlands and Norway

“…AAA is present in 4-9 per cent of men aged 65-79 years, and is usually asymptomatic 6 . Several authors advocate screening with ultrasonography to diagnose and treat AAA before rupture occurs 7,8 . Only half of patients with a ruptured AAA reach a hospital alive, of whom only 50 per cent undergo emergency repair.…”