A 55-year-old woman with a long history of smoking reports that her left calf cramps when she walks upstairs. She has a bruit heard over the left femoral artery. Noninvasive tests to determine if she may have peripheral arterial disease as a cause of her calf cramping include:

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This patient describes symptoms of claudication, a symptom that is often caused by peripheral arterial disease. An ankle-brachial index measurement is taken by measuring the blood pressure in the arm and leg of a patient while that patient is recumbent. It is performed with a sphygmomanometer and is noninvasive. When blood pressures in the legs are significantly lower than blood pressures in the arms, peripheral arterial disease may be present. Doppler ultrasonography is also performed without invading the body, by placing an ultrasound transducer on the skin over a blood vessel and gauging blood flow using reflected sound waves. Angiography and arterial cut-downs are invasive procedures.

A 55-Year-Old Woman with a Long History of Smoking Reports