Tools for Your Practice
How to Calculate Ankle-Brachial Index

The ABI measurement is performed with the patient resting in a supine position. The examiner should make all arm and leg blood pressure measurements with an appropriately sized blood pressure cuff and the Doppler device. The systolic blood pressure is determined in both arms, and the ankle systolic blood pressure is determined for the right and left posterior tibial and dorsal pedis arteries. An ABI measurement can usually be performed in less than 10 minutes.

A version of this calculator is also available for your PDA. Click here to download the PDA version.

You can watch a Video of an ABI being performed or download a PDF version of these instructions.

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Enter the systolic blood pressure readings below to calculate the left and right ABI.

Right Left
Arm mm Hg mm Hg
Posterior Tibial mm Hg mm Hg
Dorsal Pedis mm Hg mm Hg

This tool is for illustrative purposes only and is not designed for patient management.

Indications
Plavix® (clopidogrel bisulfate) is indicated for the reduction of atherothrombotic events as follows:

Recent MI, Recent Stroke, or Established Peripheral Arterial Disease
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For patients with a history of recent myocardial infarction (MI), recent stroke, or established peripheral arterial disease, PLAVIX has been shown to reduce the rate of a combined end point of new ischemic stroke (fatal or not), new MI (fatal or not), and other vascular death.

Acute Coronary Syndrome
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For patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (unstable angina/non-Q-wave MI), including patients who are to be managed medically and those who are to be managed with percutaneous coronary intervention (with or without stent) or CABG, PLAVIX has been shown to decrease the rate of a combined end point of cardiovascular death, MI, or stroke as well as the rate of a combined end point of cardiovascular death, MI, stroke, or refractory ischemia.

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For patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction, PLAVIX has been shown to reduce the rate of death from any cause and the rate of a combined end point of death, reinfarction, or stroke. This benefit is not known to pertain to patients who receive primary angioplasty.
Important Risk Information18
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PLAVIX is contraindicated in patients with active pathologic bleeding such as peptic ulcer or intracranial hemorrhage. PLAVIX should be used with caution in patients who may be at risk of increased bleeding from trauma, surgery, or coadministration with NSAIDs or warfarin. (See CONTRAINDICATIONS and PRECAUTIONS.*)

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The rates of major and minor bleeding were higher in patients treated with PLAVIX plus aspirin compared with placebo
plus aspirin in clinical trials. (See ADVERSE REACTIONS.*)

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As part of the worldwide post-marketing experience with PLAVIX, there have been cases of reported thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), some with fatal outcome. TTP has been reported rarely following use of PLAVIX, sometimes after a short exposure (<2 weeks). TTP is a serious condition that can be fatal and requires urgent treatment including plasmapheresis (plasma exchange). (See WARNINGS.*)

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In clinical trials, the most common clinically important side effects were pruritus, purpura, diarrhea, and rash; infrequent events included intracranial hemorrhage (0.4%) and severe neutropenia (0.05%). (See ADVERSE REACTIONS.*)