Summary
The systolic blood pressure has been measured at the first finger, ankle and first toe, using the strain gauge technique, in 22 diabetic patients aged 40 to 59 years, with diabetes of 11 to 42 years duration, and in 14 non-diabetics in the same age group — all without clinical evidence of occlusive arterial disease in the legs and with palpable pulses in the feet. — The mean systolic gradients (arm-finger, arm-ankle, arm-toe) were equal in the diabetics and nondiabetics. Using mean ± 2.5 x S.D. as normal limits, a significantly elevated systolic blood pressure at the given sites was found in 12 observations among 6 diabetics; 5 of these patients had arterial calcification shown by radiography. In only one observation, a significant pressure drop suggesting arterial stenosis was demonstrated.
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Nielsen, P.E., Rasmussen, S.M. Indirect measurement of systolic blood pressure by strain gauge technique at finger, ankle and toe in diabetic patients without symptoms of occlusive arterial disease. Diabetologia 9, 25–29 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01225996
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01225996