Relation of Ankle Brachial Index to Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Non-Diabetic Individuals

Introduction: Peripheral arterial disease is associated with an excessive risk for cardi-ovascular events and mortality. Peripheral arterial disease is usually measured with ankle brachial index (ABI). It is previously shown that the ABI would reflect LV systolic function, as well as atherosclerosis; however, these results are not shown in non-diabetic individuals. In this study, we aim to evaluate this relation in non-diabetic individuals.Methods: In a prospective study, 73 non-diabetic individuals (38.4% male with mean age of 59.20±14.42 years) referred for ABI determination who had had the left ventricular ejection fraction determined using trans-thoracic echocardiography were studied. Partici-pants were compared in normal and low ABI groups. Results: The mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 52.34±7.69, mean ankle brachial index for the right leg was 1.08±0.13, and the mean ankle brachial index for the left leg was 1.07±0.12. Low ABI incidence was 12.32%. Individuals with low ABI significantly were older (p 0.001) and had lower left ventricular ejection fraction (p 0.001). ABI had significantly inverse correlation with LVEF (r=-0.53, p 0.001) and positive correlation with age (r=0.43, p 0.001). The ABI correlated inversely with LVEF in the patients with (r =-0.52, p=0.008) and without (r=-0.55, p 0.001) IHD. Conclusion: Results showed that ankle brachial index would be influenced by left ventricular ejection fraction in non-diabetics and to evaluate and monitor cardiovascular risk in patients these should be considered together.