Pressure gradients in patients with aorto-iliac stenosis or occlusion.

In patients with peripheral arterial disease often the most hemodynamically important arteriosclerotic lesions is localized to the aorto-femoral segment. The decrease of peripheral pressure can be determined, by non-invasive methods, at the level of the thigh, above the knee, at the ankle and toe. Intraarterial femoral pressure completes these studies and gives us the best picture of the clinical importance of multilevel stenosis. The different kinds of aorto-iliac stenoses and occlusions decrease the femoral pressure from 40 to 46% of the systolic pressure. These pressure drops may be correlated in the single patient to the angiographic lesions but it is difficult to generalize these results as there is only a slight comparison between angiographic and pathophysiological patterns. The intraarterial femoral pressure it is a useful parameter to decide the best type of vascular reconstruction.