Journal
EUROPEAN HEART JOURNAL
Volume 27, Issue 15, Pages 1861-1867Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehl114
Keywords
ankle-brachial index; atherothrombosis; myocardial infarction; peripheral arterial disease; stroke; patients at risk
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Aims AGATHA (a Global Atherothrombosis Assessment) was designed to assess the extent of atherothrombosis and the use of the ankle-brachial index (ABI) in vascular patients. The principal hypotheses were that (1) in diseased patients, a tow ABI was related to the number and site of vascular beds affected and (2) in at-risk patients without disease, a low ABI was related to the number of risk factors present. Methods and results Patients were recruited consecutively by 482 clinicians in 24 countries and the ABI measurement was performed at a single visit. Of 8891 patients recruited, 1792 were defined as at risk and 7099 as with disease. Of the with-disease patients, 65.2% had one arterial bed affected, 27.6% two and 7.1% all three. Abnormal ABI (<= 0.9) was present in 30.9% of at-risk and 40.5% of with-disease patients. A tower ABI was weakly associated with an increasing number of risk factors in at-risk patients (r = -0.056, P = 0.02) and with the site and number of arterial beds affected in with-disease patients (P < 0.001). Conclusion This large international study confirms that atherothrombotic disease often occurs at more than one site. The ABI is related to the risk factor profile and to the site and extent of atherothrombosis.
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