| dc.description.abstract | Background: Cardiovascular diseases is the leading cause of premature mortality and morbidity worldwide. In Norway, every 3rd death is attributed to CVD. Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a type of CVD that results in gradual narrowing of arteries in lower extremities. PAD is associated with numerous risk factors such as dyslipidemia, diabetes and increasing age (1). Studies have found that risk of PAD occurrence is 6-fold in individuals with FH compared to normolipidemic individuals (2) . The use of Ankle-brachial index (ABI) is considered a non-invasive, effective, and low-cost diagnostic tool for PAD. Individuals with PAD are generally asymptomatic which leads to delays in diagnosis and treatment (3). Similarly, FH subjects are often underdiagnosed and undertreated. This raises concern as to how many individuals with FH that are not receiving treatment necessary to stop atherosclerotic progression. Objectives: This study aimed to explore differences in ABI between FH and non-FH patients. In addition, we sought to assess modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors associated with low ABI. Lastly, we aimed to evaluate the use of ABI as a diagnostic tool for PAD in an outpatient setting. Methods: From October 2022 to January 2023, 84 patients were recruited from the Outpatient Lipid Clinic at Aker hospital in Oslo. ABI was measured to assess circulation in lower extremities. Information on biochemical measurements, anthropometrics and medical data was collected from medical records. Data on patients (n=86) from a previous recruitment period (2020) was included in the analysis. All data was analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 29. Results: We found no statistically significant differences in ABI when comparing FH patients to a group of non-FH patients. We found that HbA1c and prior CVD were negatively associated with ABI. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was positively and significantly associated with ABI after adjustment for age, gender, and BMI. Conclusion: We found no statistically significant differences in ABI when comparing FH patients to non-FH patients. ABI was found to be a useful diagnostic tool for the assessment of PAD in an outpatient setting. | eng |