Ankle-brachial index may help predict cardiac risk

"Screening for novel risk factors such as ankle-brachial index (ABI) - which identifies peripheral arterial disease - could help prevent the 25 percent of all heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths that occur in patients thought to be at low risk. In addition, low re-intervention rates associated with endovascular repair for abdominal aortic aneurysms - comparable to those reported for open surgical repair - suggest that the minimally invasive procedure can be recommended as a first-line treatment, according to two studies presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's annual meeting held March 7 to 12 in San Diego"