Reproducibility of the Ankle-Brachial Index Measurements After a Maximal Exercise

Two methods are mainly used to determine the blood pressure at rest, in a non-invasive way, in order to calculate the Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI). The first method, using a manual sphygmomanometer coupled with a Doppler probe, is considered as the reference method. The second method requires at least one automatic sphygmomanometer. Data from the literature show that these two methods are reproducible to assess ABI at rest. Some authors have reported a better reproducibility of measurements with automatic tool. Others consider that the current accuracy of automatic measurement is insufficient to replace the reference method Doppler. Thus, the aime of the present study is to evaluate whether automatic assessment of ABI is as reliable and reproducible as the manual method.