趙啟明醫生醫務所         Dr Leo Chiu, Central Vascular Clinic 

(Non-invasive studies) ABPI for diagnosing lower limb arterial occlusive disease and predict the risk of future problems from atherosclerosis.   ABPI of less than 1.00, is associated with future risk of heart attack and/or stroke. An ABPI value between 0.40 – 0.80 is moderately decreased and often experience some symptoms such as pain in the legs induced by walking. An ABPI value of less than 0.40 indicates severe ischaemia, opinion of vascular surgeon on the benefit of invasive intervention is urgently required. ABPI can be performed every year to assess whether the disease is getting worse. How is ABPI performed Blood pressure cuffs are placed around the ankles and arms. These cuffs will be inflated to occlude blood flow. As the cuffs are deflated, a pencil shaped ultrasound device (called a Doppler probe) is used to detect the return of blood flow. The blood pressure at which blood flow start to return is recorded. Pressure at the ankle is divided by the pressure at the arm to establish an ankle to brachial pressure ratio or ABPI. ► Back to top