Background: The ankle brachial index (ABI) is recognized as a marker of atherosclerotic disease. The detection of ABI may improve the risk stratification.
Methods: We systematically searched Pubmed and Embase (from the earliest date to October 2015) for studies evaluating the prognostic value of ABI in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Stroke or cardiovascular events, mortality and functional outcomes were analyzed.
Results: Seventeen studies, containing 9404 patients, were included. The mean age of participants in each study ranged from 64 to 79 years. The prevalence of low ABI varied from 7.4% to 40.5%. In this quantitative analysis, we found that low ABI increased the risk of composite outcomes (myocardial infarction or stroke or mortality), disability and mortality.
Conclusion: The detection of ABI may help to identify high-risk patients for secondary stroke prevention.
Keywords: Acute ischemic stroke; Ankle-Brachial Index; meta-analysis; prognosis.