The effect of ankle brachial index reading on predicting abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) occur in 5 to 7 percent of people over the age of 60 in the United States. Abdominal aortic aneurysms are the thirteenth leading cause of death, killing more than 15,000 Americans each year. Undiagnosed, spontaneous rupture of the aneurysm is by far the most common cause of death. Seventy-five percent of the AAAs are asymptomatic and undiagnosed. At present there is not an inexpensive, routine screening test to aid in the diagnosis of AAAs. The ankle brachial index (ABI) has been regarded as a reliable, inexpensive, noninvasive measure of the presence and severity of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease. The purpose of this study is to look at the relationship between the presence of abdominal aortic aneurysms and the incidence of an abnormal ankle brachial index, to determine if the ABI could be used as an early predictor for AAAs. It is hypothesized that the ABI is an effective tool in predicting AAA's. After running a correlation the results verify that nondiabetic patients show with an abnormal right ankle brachial index reading to be statistically significant for the presence of an AAA. Through the routine usage of an ABI as a screening tool health care providers could detect the early presence of an AAA and therefore save lives.

Heather R. Van Duys
Spring Valley High School