043 - Does routine measurement of ankle brachial index ameliorates the assessment of coronary risk level in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. The ABICARD study

Background Ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) is an independent predictor of the extent of coronary atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. To date ABI measurement is not part of the routine examination in patient admitted for coronary angiography. Our objective was to establish ABI measurement as a routine procedure in our interventional cardiology unit to ameliorate the assessment of coronary risk level for patients admitted for scheduled coronary angiography. Method ABI measurement was performed on admission using a doppler ultrasonic instrument. Patients with past medical history of peripheral arteriopathy were excluded. Cardiovascular risk factors and clinical findings were collected. Correlations and multivariate analysis were performed on R software. Results In the pilot study, 40 consecutive patients were included between February and April 2009. 79% were males and the mean age was 66+/-12 years. ABI Conclusion ABI was an independent predictor of coronary multivessel disease and 5 years probability of cardiovascular death. Routine ABI measurement in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease provides additional information regarding patient's risk and may be taken into account to establish optimal care strategy.