Intermittent Tibial Artery Compressibility in the Noninvasive Vascular Laboratory: Implications for Diagnosis and Follow-Up

Objective: There is limited evidence available regarding intermittent tibial artery compressibility in the published literature. This investigation looks to determine the existence of intermittent tibial artery compressibility, in the noninvasive vascular laboratory.Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients underwent noninvasive arterial physiologic testing. An ankle-brachial index (ABI) >= 1.40 was defined as noncompressible and classified into 4 subgroups: (1) noncompressible single occurrence (NC-S), (2) noncompressible multiple occurrence (NC-M), (3) compressible to noncompressible (C-NC), and (4) intermittently compressible (I-C) ABI. Normal patients were compared to these noncompressible subgroups. Selective risk factors were compared in the C-NC and I-C ABI patient groups.Results: Of the 13 881 patients that were evaluated, 89% had compressible tibial arteries and 11% were noncompressible. Intermittent tibial artery compressibility was present in 11.3% of the patients, with noncompressible arteries. There were 718 patients from the NC-M, C-NC, and I-C subgroupings that had 3014 follow-up exams, over mean duration of 38 +/- 27.7 months. The C-NC and I-C subgroup patients averaged 3.3 and 3.6 calcification risk factors, respectively.Conclusion: A subset of patients with intermittent tibial artery compressibility was confirmed in the noninvasive vascular laboratory. Additional research is needed to substantiate these findings and investigate whether intermittent compressibility may be marker for increased cardiovascular risk.