Predicting Stroke Outcomes Using Ankle-Brachial Index and Inter-Ankle Blood Pressure Difference

Contralateral differences in ankle SBP and pulse wave velocity: associations with incident heart failure and mortality

BACKGROUND

Contralateral differences in brachial SBP are indicative of underlaying cardiovascular issues.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the association of contralateral differences in ankle SBP, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and heart-ankle pulse wave velocity (haPWV) with incident heart failure and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

METHODS

Cox proportional-hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) in 5077 participants (75 ± 5 years) of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.

RESULTS

Over a mean follow-up of 7.5 ± 2.2 years, there were 457 heart failure events, 1275 all-cause and 363 cardiovascular deaths. Interankle SBP difference of at least 10 mmHg [hazard ratio = 1.12; confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.28], at least 15 mmHg (hazard ratio = 1.21; CI 1.03-1.43), contralateral difference in baPWV more than 240 cm/s (hazard ratio = 1.22; CI 1.02-1.46), and haPWV more than 80 cm/s (hazard ratio = 1.24; CI 1.04-1.48) were each independently associated with all-cause mortality after adjustment for confounders. Contralateral differences in ankle SBP of at least 15 mmHg (hazard ratio = 1.56; CI 1.17-2.09), and haPWV more than 80 cm/s (hazard ratio = 1.42; CI 1.03-1.96) were both independently associated with cardiovascular mortality. Unadjusted analysis revealed that those with contralateral differences in ankle SBP of at least 10 and at least 15 mmHg, baPWV more than 240, and haPWV more than 80 cm/s had higher risks of heart failure (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

These results underscore the significance of evaluating contralateral differences in ankle SBP and PWV as potential markers of increased mortality risk among older adults.

Association of an inter-arm systolic blood pressure difference with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: A meta-analysis of cohort studies

This meta-analysis evaluated the potential association of a simultaneously measured inter-arm systolic blood pressure difference (IASBPD) and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality. The Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase, and PubMed databases were searched through to April 14, 2023 for relevant literature. The outcomes were the associations of IASBPD with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Finally, 10 cohort studies that included 15 320 individuals were included. An IASBPD of ≥15 mm Hg was associated with increased all-cause mortality (pooled hazard ratio [HR] 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.61) but an IASBPD of ≥10 mm Hg was not (pooled HR 1.28, 95% CI 0.89-1.85). The pooled HR for cardiovascular mortality was 1.88 (95% CI 1.31-2.71) for an IASBPD of ≥10 mm Hg and 1.93 (95% CI 1.24-2.99) for an IASBPD of ≥15 mm Hg. Subgroup analysis showed that younger patients (HR 9.03, 95% CI 2.00-40.82, p = .004) with an IASBPD ≥15 mm Hg were at higher risk of cardiovascular mortality than older patients (HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.06-2.64, p = .03); the difference between groups was statistically significant (p = .04). In conclusions, our findings show that a simultaneously measured IASBPD ≥15 mm Hg predicts increased all-cause mortality and an IASBPD of ≥15 mm Hg or ≥10 mm Hg predicts increased cardiovascular mortality. An IASBPD ≥15 mm Hg appears to be more correlated with cardiovascular mortality in younger patients than in older patients.

Impact of interankle blood pressure difference on major adverse cardiovascular events in cryptogenic stroke patients without peripheral artery disease: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

We investigated whether interankle blood pressure difference (IAND) can predict major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) without peripheral artery disease (PAD).

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Retrospective medical record data of patients with first-ever acute cerebral infarction who were admitted between 1 January 2007 and 31 July 2013.

PARTICIPANTS

CS patients admitted within 7 days of symptom onset were included.

OUTCOME MEASURES

MACEs were defined as stroke recurrence, myocardial infarction occurrence, or death. Survival analyses were conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis.

METHODS

Consecutive CS patients without PAD who underwent ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurements were enrolled. PAD was defined if a patient had an ABI of <0.90 or a history of angiographically confirmed PAD. Systolic and diastolic IANDs were calculated as follows: right ankle blood pressure-left ankle blood pressure.

RESULTS

A total of 612 patients were enrolled and followed up for a median 2.6 (interquartile range, 1.0-4.3) years. In the Cox regression analysis, systolic and diastolic IANDs ≥15 mm Hg were independently associated with MACEs in CS patients without PAD (hazard ratio (HR) 2.115, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.230 to 3.635 and HR 2.523, 95% CI 1.086 to 5.863, respectively). In the subgroup analysis, systolic IAND ≥15 mm Hg was independently associated with MACEs in older patients (age ≥65 years) (HR 2.242, 95% CI 1.170 to 4.298) but not in younger patients (age <65 years).

CONCLUSIONS

Large IAND is independently associated with the long-term occurrence of MACEs in patients with CS without PAD. In particular, the association between IAND and MACEs is only valid in elderly patients.

Low Toe-Brachial Index Is Associated With Stroke Outcome Despite Normal Ankle-Brachial Index

Introduction: We investigated whether the toe-brachial index (TBI) is associated with stroke prognosis and evaluated this association in patients with normal ankle-brachial index (ABI). Methods: Acute ischemic stroke patients who underwent TBI measurements were enrolled. Poor functional outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale score ≥3. Major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) was defined as stroke recurrence, myocardial infarction, or death. Normal ABI was defined as 0.9 ≤ ABI ≤ 1.4. Results: A total of 1,697 patients were enrolled and followed up for a median 39.7 (interquartile range, 25.7-54.6) months. During the period, 305 patients suffered MACE (18.0%), including 171 (10.1%) stroke recurrences. TBI was associated with hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, aortic plaque score, ABI, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (all p < 0.05). In multivariable logistic regression, TBI was inversely associated with poor functional outcome in all patients [odds ratio (OR) 0.294, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.114-0.759], even in patients with normal ABI (OR 0.293, 95% CI 0.095-0.906). In multivariable Cox regression, TBI < 0.6 was associated with stroke recurrence [hazard ratio (HR) 1.651, 95% CI 1.135-2.400], all-cause mortality (HR 2.105, 95% CI 1.343-3.298), and MACE (HR 1.838, 95% CI 1.396-2.419) in all patients. TBI < 0.6 was also associated with stroke recurrence (HR 1.681, 95% CI 1.080-2.618), all-cause mortality (HR 2.075, 95% CI 1.180-3.651), and MACE (HR 1.619, 95% CI 1.149-2.281) in patients with normal ABI. Conclusions: Low TBI is independently associated with poor short- and long-term outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients despite normal ABI.

Low Ankle-Brachial Index Is Associated With Stroke Recurrence in Ischemic Stroke Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Introduction: Cardioembolic stroke (CE) has poor outcomes and high recurrence rates. A low ankle-brachial index (ABI <0.9) is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) and poor stroke outcomes. We investigated whether a low ABI is associated with stroke recurrence, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and mortality in patients with CE and whether this association is affected by AF.

Methods: We enrolled patients with CE who underwent ABI measurements during hospitalization. Recurrent stroke was defined based on newly developed neurologic symptoms with relevant lesions 7 days after the index stroke. MACE comprised stroke recurrence, myocardial infarction, or death.

Results: Of 775 patients, 427 (55.1%) were AF patients and 348 (44.9%) were non-AF patients. Patients were followed up for a median of 33.6 (IQR, 18.0–51.6) months. In total, 194 (25.0%) patients experienced MACE, including 77 (9.9%) patients with stroke recurrence and 101 (13.0%) patients with mortality, during the study period. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that an ABI <0.9 was independently associated with MACE (AF patients: hazard ratio [HR] = 2.327, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.371–3.949, non-AF patients: HR = 3.116, 95% CI = 1.465–6.629) and mortality (AF patients: HR = 2.659, 95% CI = 1.483–4.767, non-AF patients: HR = 3.645, 95% CI = 1.623–8.187). Stroke recurrence was independently associated with an ABI <0.9 in AF patients (HR = 3.559, 95% CI = 1.570–8.066), but not in non-AF patients (HR = 1.186, 95% CI = 0.156–8.989).

Conclusions: We found that a low ABI is associated with stroke recurrence, MACE, and mortality in patients with CE. In particular, the association between ABI and recurrent stroke is only present in AF patients. A low ABI may be a useful prognostic marker in patients with CE, especially in AF patients.

Combination of low ankle-brachial index and high ankle-brachial index difference for mortality prediction

Low ankle-brachial index (ABI) and high ABI difference (ABID) are each associated with poor prognosis. No study has assessed the ability of the combination of low ABI and high ABID to predict survival. We created an ABI score by assigning 1 point for ABI < 0.9 and 1 point for ABID ≥ 0.17 and examine the ability of this ABI score to predict mortality. We included 941 patients scheduled for echocardiographic examination. The ABI was measured using an ABI-form device. ABID was calculated as |right ABI-left ABI|. Among the 941 subjects, the prevalence of ABI < 0.9 and ABID ≥ 0.17 was 6.1% and 6.8%, respectively. Median follow-up to mortality was 93 months. There were 87 cardiovascular and 228 overall deaths. All ABI-related parameters, including ABI, ABID, ABI < 0.9, ABID ≥ 0.17, and ABI score, were significantly associated with overall and cardiovascular mortality in the multivariable analysis (P ≤ 0.009). Further, in the direct comparison of multivariable models, the basic model + ABI score was the best at predicting overall and cardiovascular mortality among the five ABI-related multivariable models (P ≤ 0.049). Hence, the ABI score, a combination of ABI < 0.9 and ABID ≥ 0.17, should be calculated for better mortality prediction.

Updates in Stroke Treatment, Diagnostic Methods and Predictors of Outcome

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