Instrumental evaluation of the venous circulation in the arteriopathic subjects.

In peripheric arteriopathies, alterations occur to the venous system with a particular swelling of the veins of the foot-top, in the subjects (sclerotic or diabetic) at the 2nd and 3rd Fontaine stage, which gradually decreases until the collapse in the most advanced levels of the arterious affection (4th stage). In order to verify all that, we examined 40 artheriopathic subjects at the different Fontaine stages through a c.w. doppler apparatus and an impedence plethysmograph. Together with the modification of the arterious doppler velocitogram and the reduction of the Winsor index, we noticed that the velocity of the venous flow increases together with a venous hypertension that reaching the highest values at the 3rd stage, while at the 4th stage they are reduced because of the progress of the sclerosis. The impedence plethysmogram shows a reduction of the systodiastolic sphygmic excursion with a variation of the basic line, depending on the respiration, proportional at the clinic stage. In diabetic subjects the progress of the disease is more precocious because of the quicker implication of the microcirculation.