Peripheral arterial disease diagnosis

The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a simple, noninvasive, quantitative test that has been proven to be a highly sensitive and specific tool in the diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease. 

Olin, J.W., Sealove, B.A. Peripheral artery disease Current insight into the disease and its diagnosis and management. Mayo Clin. Proc. 85, 678-692 (2010)... 

Intermittent claudication is a clinical diagnosis. Usually lower extremity ischemia is caused by flow-limiting atherosclerotic plaques. Intermittent claudication is the presenting symptomatology in half of the patients with chronic lower extremity ischemia. The other one-third to half of patients with documented peripheral arterial occlusive disease are asymptomatic or silent (8). Other symptoms and physical findings indicating more severe ischemia are pain at rest, pale and cold extremity(s), ischemic ulcers, peripheral cyanosis, and gangrene (12). 

---