89-1
Chapter One
Methods of Arterial and
Venous Assessment
Peter Gorman, Mario De Nunzio, Richard Donnelly
OVERVIEW
This chapter describes the main investigative techniques used in
arterial and venous disease.
The ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI), calculated from the
ratio of ankle systolic blood pressure (SBP) to brachial SBP, is a
sensitive marker of arterial insufficiency in the lower limb, and
correlates with survival.
Blood velocity increases through an area of narrowing. Typically,
a 2-fold increase in peak systolic velocity compared with the
velocity in a proximal adjacent segment of the same artery
usually signifies a stenosis of 50% or more.
In detecting femoral and popliteal artery disease, duplex
ultrasonography has a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of
90-100%.
The introduction of multidetector computed tomography
(MDCT) has had a dramatic effect on vascular imaging. CT
pulmonary angiography (CTPA) for suspected pulmonary
embolism is a good example, but CT angiography and magnetic
resonance angiography are widely used t ... read full excerpt from ABC of Arterial and Venous Disease (ABC Series #78) ebook
