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
Brachial plexus block useful in providing anesthesia and postoperative analgesia for surgery to the elbow, forearm, wrist, and hand. The axillary block is also the safest of the four main approaches to the brachial plexus, as it does not risk paresis of the phrenic nerve, nor does it have the potential to cause pneumothorax. In the axilla, the nerves of the brachial plexus and the axillary artery are enclosed together in a fibrous sheath which is a continuation of the deep cervical fascia. The easily palpated axillary artery thus serves as a reliable anatomical landmark for this block, and the injection of local