Ankle-Brachial Index and Extent of Atherosclerosis in Patients from the Middle East (the AGATHA-ME Study): A Cross-Sectional Multicenter Study

To assess the extent of atherothrombosis and the use of the ankle-brachial index (ABI) in populations from the Middle East, we conducted a multicenter study similar to AGATHA (a Global Atherothrombosis Assessment), AGATHA-ME, which included 1341 patients from 18 centers from 5 countries (United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman). Patients were assigned to 2 groups: the with-disease and at-risk groups. Abnormal ABI (≤0.9) was seen in 31.5% of at-risk patients and 28.2% of with-disease patients. Patients with peripheral arterial disease had the highest frequency of abnormal ABI (77.6%), with 97.8 negative predictive value. The AGATHA-ME study confirms that atherothrombosis disease often occurs at more than 1 site. The ABI is related to the risk factor profile and to the site and extent of atherothrombosis. Gender and diabetes mellitus are associated with the worst parameters.