Up to 12 million people in the United States have a serious medical condition called peripheral artery disease (PAD). This potentially life-threatening condition is so “silent” that one in five people with PAD never develops symptoms at all.
Your peripheral arteries run into your limbs (i.e., arms and legs). Most often, PAD affects your legs, where the circulation may slow to the point that you develop non-healing sores that can lead to limb amputation.
In fact, up to 400 of the limb amputations performed every day in the U.S. have PAD as a contributing factor. Untreated PAD may also result in fatal heart attacks and strokes.
September is PAD Awareness Month. At Laurelton Heart Specialists, we want to identify and treat PAD as soon as it develops. Our expert cardiologist, Dr. Ola Akinboboye, encourages you to undergo a cardiovascular evaluation at our office in Rosedale, Queens, New York, if you’re at increased risk for PAD.
Do you have one or more of the five top risk factors for PAD, even if you don’t have symptoms, such as chest pain or leg pain? If so, what can you and your doctor do about it? Here are the leading risk factors.
Black and Hispanic adults are at increased risk for PAD. And yet, 80% of adults who belong to these ethnic groups have never had a doctor discuss PAD with them, ask about symptoms, or explore their family history.
Due to health disparities, if you’re Black or Hispanic, you’re more likely to develop plaques in your peripheral arteries that can reduce blood flow to your legs. The slow circulation also robs your muscles of oxygen, which may make your legs feel heavy or tired.
As with many health conditions, PAD seems to have a genetic component. Let us know if anyone in your immediate family has or had cardiovascular disease or risk factors for PAD, such as metabolic disease or diabetes.
No matter what your race or ethnicity, the risk for PAD increases as you age. Over time — depending on your diet and lifestyle — you may develop fatty deposits in your arteries that harden into obstructive plaques.
When your arteries are narrowed by plaque deposits — a condition known as atherosclerosis — your heart has to work harder to pump blood. And, as you age, your blood vessels weaken and become less flexible, which also increases your risk for atherosclerosis and PAD.
Even if you’re young, you may still develop PAD if you have lifestyle habits that increase your risk for cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. Here are some ways unhealthy habits increase your risk for PAD:
If you need help adopting a healthy diet or exercise regimen, or if you’ve tried to quit smoking and failed, let us know. We can recommend medically supervised weight-loss and smoking cessation programs.
Certain medical conditions raise your risk for PAD, either due to the way they affect your cardiovascular system or because they may limit your mobility, which leads to a more sedentary lifestyle. Medical conditions associated with PAD include:
If you’re a woman, let us know if you developed pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Both of these conditions put you at risk for PAD.
If you have one or more of the above risk factors, don’t wait for symptoms to tell you that you have PAD. You may never develop symptoms at all, or they may be so mild that you easily dismiss them. That’s why PAD is known as one of the “silent killers.”
Contact us for a cardiovascular evaluation. We conduct a thorough investigation, including a physical examination, personal and family medical history, and may recommend additional tests such as a stress test or cholesterol test. Based on your results, we custom-design a treatment or preventive plan to manage or prevent PAD.
Are you at increased risk for PAD? Contact our expert team at 718-208-4816 or use our online outreach form to receive the care you need today.
