RISK FACTOR PROFILE IN PATIENTS WITH ASYMPTOMATIC PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE IN AN INTERNAL MEDICINE SERVICE: PP.28.106

Abstract

Objective: To identify the clinical-biological profile of the patient with ankle brachial index (ABI) <0.9 hospitalized in a Service of Internal Medicine. Method: A transversal, descriptive and observational trial was carried out among hospitalized patients with an acute or deteriorated non vascular disease in the Internal Medicine Service of the University Hospital Dr. Peset (Valencia, Spain) during a 3-month period. Patients were selected taking into account the age, sex and cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus (DM), lipid disorders, personal and familiar past history of cardiovascular disease. Previous evidence of symptomatic arteriosclerosis, uncontrolled cancer or cognitive deterioration were exclusion criteria. An Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) test was performed in all patients and we used the most recent analytical data before the present process within the 6 previous months. Results: Of 189 clinical checked files, we observed a mean age of 76.20 years (standard deviation of 12.93), of which were 66% males and 43% females. To determine the ABI test in our patients the following results were obtained: 34% had an ABI of <0.9, 48.8% had a normal ABI (0.9–1.2) and in 17.2% an ABI of > 1.2% was detected. On combining both pathological results we found a total of 51.2% of an abnormal ABI test. Prevalence of an ABI<0.9 in the different subgroups was: Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease that can be detected performing an ABI, simple and low cost test. A third of the patients without past family history of arteriosclerosis disease presented a pathological ABI test. In the group of patients with a pathological ABI test, active smoking was found to have the highest risk factor, followed by lipid disorders, diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure, in this order.