Sensitivity and specificity of the ankle-brachial index to predict future cardiovascular outcomes: a systematic review.

Objective: The ankle-brachial index is the ratio of the ankle and the brachial systolic blood pressure and is used to assess individuals with peripheral arterial disease. An ankle-brachial index <0.90 suggests the presence of peripheral arterial disease and is a marker of cardiovascular risk.

Risk factors, hospital management and outcomes after acute myocardial infarction in South Asian Canadians and matched control subjects.

Background: Coronary artery disease affects a significantly larger proportion of Canadians of South Asian origin than Canadians of other ethnic origins. We compared differences in presentation, risk factors and management of myocardial infarction (MI) between South Asian Canadians and matched control subjects.

Methods: We reviewed the charts of 553 South Asian patients and 553 non-South Asian matched control subjects presenting with acute MI (International Classification of Diseases code 410) to 2 hospitals in Canada from January 1994 to April 1999.