Ankle-Brachial Index: Sensitivity and Specificity

With the patient lying supine, a sphygmomanometer cuff, placed 2 to 3 cm above the point of pulse measurement, is inflated above the systolic pressure. As the cuff pressure is slowly released, a handheld Doppler is used for obtaining the systolic pressure at the right and left ankle (either dorsalis pedis artery, posterior tibial artery, or both) and the right and left brachial artery. The systolic pressure is that pressure where the Doppler signal returns.