Poststress Doppler ankle pressures: a comparison of treadmill exercise with two other methods of induced hyperemia

Postocclusion reactive hyperemia and isolated leg exercise were evaluated as techniques for functional evaluation of lower extremity arterial insufficiency by comparing them with treadmill exercise. Sixty patients with claudication and six normal subjects were evaluated. Changes in Doppler ankle pressures were measured after each form of stress. With substantial occlusive disease, there is a drop in pressure with gradual recovery. Postocclusion reactive hyperemia and isolated leg exercise are abnormal if the pressure does not return to resting levels within two minutes. There was good correlation between the three methods. Postocclusion reactive hyperemia avoids the problems of patient cooperation inherent in the other two methods. Postocclusion reactive hyperemia should probably replace treadmill exercise as the first method of stress testing lower extremities.