Intraarterial pressure measurements during angiographic evaluation of peripheral vascular disease: techniques, interpretation, applications, and limitations.

Many operative and percutaneous procedures are available for the treatment of occlusive disease involving the lower-extremity arterial system. Peripheral vascular disease involving the aorta and lower-extremity vessels usually is attributable to atherosclerosis. The lower-extremity arterial supply is divided segmentally into the inflow (aortoiliac) and outflow (femoropopliteal and tibioperoneal) vessels. Given the length of the lower-extremity vascular system, the propensity for multifocal disease, and the possibility of a nonvascular cause for a patient's symptoms, both localization of disease in arterial segments and determination of the hemodynamic impact of diseased sites are important for judicious treatment planning. This review focuses on the use of intraarterial pressure measurement as an adjunct to angiography and intravascular intervention in evaluating the significance of arterial occlusive disease in lower-extremity arteries.