Upstroke time as a marker of atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes mellitus who have a normal ankle-brachial index.

Abstract We measured upstroke time in 509 patients with diabetes who had a normal ankle-brachial index (ABI) (1.00 ≤ ABI ≤ 1.40) (443 men and 66 women; mean age: 67.6 ± 10.8 years). The prevalence of cardiovascular disease was significantly higher in patients with prolonged upstroke time at the ankle than in patients with normal upstroke time. The association between prolonged upstroke time and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease remained significant after adjusting for confounders.