Abstract

AREVALO MANSO, Juan José; JUAREZ MARTIN, Belén; GALA CHACON, Encarnación  and  RODRIGUEZ MARTINEZ, Carmen. Ankle brachial index as indicator for vascular mortality. Gerokomos [online]. 2012, vol.23, n.2, pp.88-91. ISSN 1134-928X.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1134-928X2012000200007.

The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a simple test showing the relationship between systolic blood pressure in the upper and the lower limbs. This parameter widely studied in literature has been reported as an excellent vascular and all-cause death predictor when exceeds the normal values (0.90-1.30). In such situation the ABI can early detect periferic arterial disease (PAD) in asymptomatic phase and be a cutoff parameter to consider more aggressive preventive interventions before the existing vascular damage becomes symptomatic. This test is a powerful assessment tool for nurses to select those patients needing to maximize preventive cares. The nursing staff training for ABI measurement, the provision of suitable equipment by the Health Institutions and the development of reliable and more simple measurement methods are key issues that would facilitate its routinely and systematically use to improve the preventive strategy in vascular diseases.

Keywords : Ankle-brachial index; nursing assessment; periferic arterial disease; atherosclerosis; diagnostic techniques and procedures; diagnostic test; primary prevention; secondary prevention; nursing care.

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