The arm-ankle pressure gradient in relation to cardiovascular risk factors in intermittent claudication.

The arm-ankle systolic pressure gradient was measured in 165 male patients with intermittent claudication and was correlated with different combinations of known cardiovascular risk factors. The pressure gradient increased with increasing number of risk factors. We conclude that intermittent claudication may be used as a simple model for studies of arteriosclerosis, the arm-ankle systolic pressure gradient being a measure of the degree of arteriosclerosis between heart and ankle.