Blood Pressure and Flow in the Calf in Relation to Claudication Distance

Abstract

Plethysmographic calf blood pressure and flow measurements were performed during reactive hyperemia in 68 patients with atherosclerosis obliterans, and the results compared with the claudication distance. Statistically significant, but rather poor, correlation was found between the post-exercise as well as the postischemic calf blood pressure and the claudication distance. The correlation between the postexercise first flow or the postischemic maximal blood flow and the claudication distance was found to be of the same order of magnitude as between the pressure and the claudication distance. The study supports the suggestion that the local blood pressure is of importance in determining the walking distance. The poor correlation indicates, however, that there must be other factors at work. One of them is the blood flow capacity, which seems to be of almost the same importance as the blood pressure.

Key Words:

• Atherosclerosis obliterans
• blood flow
• blood pressure
• intramuscular pressure
• plethysmography
• reactive hyperemia