title: Low ankle-brachial index predicts cardiovascular risk after acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A low ankle-brachial blood pressure index (ABI) is an established risk marker for cardiovascular disease and mortality in the general population, but little is known about its prognostic value in individuals with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA).
  
  
  METHODS
  An inception cohort of 204 patients with acute ischemic stroke or TIA was followed up for a mean of 2.3 years. At baseline, patients underwent ABI measurement and were assessed for risk factors, cardiovascular comorbidities, and cervical or intracranial artery stenosis. The association between low ABI (</=0.9) and the risk of the composite outcome of stroke, myocardial infarction, or death was examined by Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A low ABI was found in 63 patients (31%) and was associated with older age, current smoking, hypertension, peripheral arterial disease, and cervical or intracranial stenosis. During a total of 453.0 person-years of follow-up, 37 patients experienced outcome events (8.2% per person-year), with a higher outcome rate per person-year in patients with low ABI (12.8% vs 6.3%, P=0.03). In survival analysis adjusted for age and stroke etiology, patients with a low ABI had a 2 times higher risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, or death than those with a normal ABI (hazard ratio=2.2; 95% CI, 1.1 to 4.5). Additional adjustment for risk factors and cardiovascular comorbidities did not attenuate the association.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A low ABI independently predicted subsequent cardiovascular risk and mortality in patients with acute stroke or TIA. ABI measurement may help to identify high-risk patients for targeted secondary stroke prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, General-Pape-Strasse 64, 12101 Berlin, Germany. m.busch@rki.de
authors.forename: Markus A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.forename: Jens-Eric
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Röhl
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Neuner
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Masuhr
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index / Q000379:methods*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016019:Survival Analysis