Use of a post-exercise ankle brachial index (ABI) appears to be a powerful independent predictor of all-cause mortality among patients with peripheral arterial disease, or PAD, and provides additional risk stratification beyond the ABI at rest, according to findings from an observational analysis. Patients with an ABI of 0.85 or higher before and after exercise had a 10-year mortality rate of 32.7%, compared with a 41.2% rate, which was observed in patients with a normal ABI at rest but an ABI of less than 0.85 after exercise. An abnormal post-exercise ABI result independently predicted mortality (hazard ratio 1.3). Additional independent predictors of mortality were:
