Introduction:

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) may present with no symptoms at all, hence the need for diagnosis to avoid complications.

Objective:

To determine the presence of peripheral artery disease by means of the ankle-brachial index obtained by photoplethysmography in prehypertensive patients.

Method:

A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in a population of 35 patients over 18 years of age, with a presumptive diagnosis of prehypertension, belonging to the Family Doctor's Office 2 from the Policlínico Universitario Josué País García in Santiago de Cuba. The ANGIODIN® PD 3000 digital plethysmograph was used to measure the ankle-brachial index.

Results:

None of the patients had symptoms of PAD, but after measuring the ankle-brachial index, 51.43% of them were found to have signs of this disease. Peripheral artery disease was more frequent in men (52.94 vs. 50.0%), with no significant statistical differences (p>0.05).

Conclusions:

The ankle-brachial index obtained by photoplethysmography was useful in determining the presence of asymptomatic peripheral artery disease in prehypertensive patients. A high incidence of the disease was identified, with a higher frequency in the male sex.

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