Peripheral artery disease peripheral artery disease: If peripheral artery disease is suspected, the initial study is the ankle–brachial index (ABI). The ABI is a simple, non-invasive test, which measures the ratio of systolic blood pressure in the ankle to the systolic blood pressure in the upper arm. This is based on the idea that if blood pressure readings in the ankle are lower than those in the arm, a blockage in the arteries that provide blood from the heart to the ankle is suspected. An ABI range of 0.90 to 1.40 is considered normal. A person is considered to have PAD when the
Peripheral artery disease death which may require amputation; coronary artery disease, or stroke. Up to 50% of people with PAD do not have symptoms. The greatest risk factor for PAD is cigarette smoking. Other risk factors include diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney problems, and high blood cholesterol. The most common underlying mechanism of peripheral artery disease is atherosclerosis, especially in individuals over 40 years old. Other mechanisms include artery spasm, blood clots, trauma, fibromuscular dysplasia, and vasculitis. PAD is typically diagnosed by finding an ankle-brachial index (ABI) less than 0.90, which is the systolic blood pressure at the ankle divided by the systolic