Assessment of aortoiliac stenosis by femoral artery pressure measurement and Doppler waveform analysis.

Two-hundred and four aortoiliac segments of 102 patients with arterial disease of the legs were examined for evidence of aortoiliac stenosis by Doppler analysis of the common femoral artery, angiography and direct femoral artery pressure (FAP) measurements at rest and after induction of hyperaemia with papaverine. From the continuous wave and multigate Pulsed Doppler waveforms registered at rest and during postocclusion hyperaemia, the following instantaneous maximum frequency envelope parameters were calculated: maximum forward frequency, maximum reverse frequency, systolic upslope time (UST) and Pulsatility Index. The overall correlation of these parameters with the apriori classifications of the aortoiliac segments, based on FAP measurements and angiography, were poor. By multiple regression analysis the UST appeared to be the Doppler waveform parameter with the best predictive value for significant aortoiliac stenosis.