Does ABI = PAD?

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I am sure that you are asking: what is an ABI? ABI stands for Ankle-brachial index. This means, we take a blood pressure on each of your arms and we take blood pressures around each of your ankles. The ratio from arms to legs, is the ABI. The ABI is the "gold standard" test to diagnos PAD. If the blood pressures are too low in the legs as compared to the arms, that means the blood is not getting down to your toes as well as it should.

So if you have been diagnosed with PAD, what should you do about it?

• walk more: walk until you have pain, then stop, and walk again
• control your risk factors: no smoking, blood pressure control, cholesterol control, diabetes control
• If the ABI is low enough, you may need to have further diagnostics, like an ultrasound done.

Here is another video about medical treatment for PAD:

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