Could your painful symptoms be PAD?
Tess, 55 woke nightly with foot pain. For weeks, her legs would tire and cramp while walking, but once she rested, the feeling would disappear. However, foot pain was the final straw. At an appointment with her family physician, she learned she had peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
Affecting nearly 12 million Americans, PAD is a common circulatory problem where narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to your limbs. With PAD, extremities usually the legs…don’t receiver enough blood to keep up with demand. PAD can indicate more serious fatty deposit accumulations in arteries leading to the heart and brain, dramatically reducing blood flow and increasing your risk of heart attack or stroke.
“Symptoms vary, but the most common is pain in the lower extremities while walking. Severe symptoms include slow-to-heal skim wounds on the legs or feet.” says Robert Winter, MD, vascular surgeon and medical director of the Vascular Center of Excellence at the Florida Hospital Cardiovascular Institute.
Some people with PAD experience no symptoms, so its important to know the risk factors. These risks include smoking; more than 50 years of age; obesity; diabetes; high blood pressure; high cholesterol; and family history of heart disease or stroke.
Talk to your family physician about an exam and diagnostic tests, such as an ankle-brachial test (ABI). It’s painless and easy, ABIs compare blood pressure readings in your ankles with those in your arms. And, while it can help determine whether you have PAD, it cannot identify which arteries are narrowed or blocked. So a follow-up visit with an experienced vascular specialist is vital.
The specialized vascular team at the Florida Hospital Cardiovascular Institute starts with a conservative treatment approach for patients n the early stages of PAD. Walking programs, lifestyle changes and medications are the first course of action. When those treatments do not work, minimally invasive surgery may be the next option.
Luckily for Tess, her family physician was able to diagnose her PAD early, which allowed her to manage her condition with regular walking and medication. She knows her PAS will never be completely resolved, but for now, being able to walk without becoming tired and sleep without numbness makes her very happy.
by: Tesha Daniels / [email protected]
As in Tess’ case, it is critical to pay attention to the warning signs your body gives you. We hear so often that people believe ‘foot pain is normal’ when the truth is your foot pain could be an indicator of a more serious condition. This is a great story to read and share, thank you for posting your story.