[Atherosclerosis: which are the tools available for the practionner?].

Identification of atherosclerotic lesions in asymptomatic subjects improves the stratification of their absolute cardiovascular risk. Several methods allowing detection of atherosclerosis rely on sophisticated and expensive apparatus. Only simple and inexpensive methods can be used in general practice. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a very simple, cheap and easy to learn method to identify peripheral artery disease, one of several clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis. ABI is not only a marker of atherosclerosis but a strong predictor of cardiovascular mortality. Pulse wave velocity a marker of large artery stiffness is another strong predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It is presently used only for clinical studies but may soon be part of the vascular assessment performed in general practice.