Association Between Ankle-Brachial Index and Coronary Lesions Assessed by Coronary Angiography

The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a simple, non-invasive, and inexpensive method used in the diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and can identify individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease in other arteries of the body, especially the coronary and carotid arteries. The primary objective of this study was to assess whether patients with an ABI < 0.9 have more severe coronary artery disease detected on coronary angiography compared to patients with a normal ABI.

This is a prospective, analytical, cross-sectional study that was performed from July 1, 2013 to June 31, 2014 that recruited 163 patients (101 men (62%) and 62 women (38%)) according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All patients underwent coronary angiography, and then ABI measurements were performed. Pearson's Chi-square and Student's t-tests were used to compare variables between groups. The Poisson regression model was used to evaluate whether ABI was an independent predictor of stenoses > 50%.

The prevalence of ABI < 0.9 was 9.8%. Patients with an ABI < 0.9 had a higher prevalence of stenoses ≥ 50% in the left anterior descendant (LAD) (68.7% vs. 36%, P = 0.02) and left main (8.7% vs. 0.6%, P < 0.001) than those with a normal ABI. On multivariate Poisson regression, an ABI < 0.9 was an independent predictor of stenosis ≥ 50% in the LAD (odds ratio (OR): 2.05 (1.39 - 3.04), P < 0.001).

Patients with an ABI < 0.9 had a higher prevalence of stenoses ≥ 50% in the LAD and left main than those with a normal ABI. An abnormal ABI was an independent predictor of lesions ≥ 50% in LAD.