PREVALENCE OF PLAQUES AND STENOSES DETECTABLE BY ECHO-DOPPLER EXAMINATION IN THE FEMORAL ARTERIES OF AN ELDERLY POPULATION

Using echo-Doppler evaluation, we assessed the prevalence of possible atherosclerotic lesions in the common femoral arteries (n = 478) and s uperficial femoral arteries (n = 478) in 239 subjects (age range 65-94 years) living in retirement houses in Seattle. Ankle pressure was mea sured with a pneumatic cuff and a continuous wave Doppler. There were 68 individuals with an ankle arm index less than 0.97 and 39 of these with a index below 0.90. An echo-Doppler examination was performed wit h an Advanced Technologies Laboratories Mark 600 Duplex Scanner. We fo und 167 (34.9%) common femoral arteries affected by non-stenosing plaq ue while 19 arteries (4%) had stenosis or occlusion. In addition, 178 (37.2%) superficial femoral arteries showed non-stenosing plaques. The subjects with common femoral disease were 27 (11.3%), those with evid ence of superficial femoral artery disease were 48 (20.1%), and those affected by disease in both sites were 84 (35.1%). There were 80 peopl e (33.5%) with no ultrasound evidence of femoral artery disease. We fo und that the presence and severity of disease increased progressively in the decades 65-74, 75-84 and 85-94. We also demonstrated a positive association between major cardiovascular risk factors and ultrasound evidence of peripheral disease. The prevalence of femoral artery disea se in an apparently healthy population was relatively high, although s tenoses in most instances were not severe. We conclude that non-invasi ve ultrasound methods identify a fraction of individuals (n = 39, 16% of the total) with flow-reducing stenoses (ankle-arm index (AAI) < 0.9 0) in the peripheral circulation of the lower limbs: they are expected to be at high risk for cardiovascular death in general. Echo-Doppler might be used to monitor further disease progression and to evaluate t he efficacy of different therapeutic or preventive interventions.