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Heart Care at Grand View Hospital
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
Grand View Hospital Wants to Help You Take Control
PAD is a slowing or stopping of the normal flow of blood to the legs. It increases your risk for heart attack and stroke. This disease affects both men and women and often goes untreated because many people mistakenly think the symptoms are a normal part of aging.You may think it is arthritis or sciatica or just “stiffness” from getting older. PAD leg pain occurs in the muscles, not the joints. Those with diabetes might confuse PAD pain with a neuropathy—a common diabetic symptom that is a burning or painful discomfort of the feet or thighs.
Know the Symptoms
The most common symptom of PAD is painful cramping in the hips, thighs or calves when walking, climbing stairs or exercising. Other symptoms include numbness or tingling in the legs, burning or aching pain in feet or toes while resting, color changes in skin of legs or feet and loss of hair on legs. Early diagnosis can add years to your life.
Treatment for PAD focuses on the reduction of symptoms and the prevention of further progression of the disease.
Are You at Risk?
As many as 8-12 million Americans over age 50 may have PAD. It is estimated that four million of those suffer leg-pain symptoms. Individuals at highest risk include:
- People over age 50
- Smokers
- Diabetics
- People who are overweight
- People who do not exercise
People with high blood pressure or high cholesterol
- People with coronary artery disease (CAD)
How is PAD Diagnosed?
An ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a common screening test in which blood-pressure cuffs and stethoscopes are used to measure the ratio of blood pressure in the feet and arms. Other diagnostic testing may include non-invasive imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), computed tomography (CT), angiography or ultrasound. In some cases, an arteriogram—an injection of X-ray dye directly into the arteries—may be recommended as well.
What Treatment is Available?
Treatment for PAD focuses on the reduction of symptoms and the prevention of further progression of the disease. In most cases, lifestyle changes that stop the progression and help with disease management, exercise and medications that lower cholesterol or control high blood pressure and prevent plaque build-up are enough to slow the progression or even reverse the symptoms of PAD. In extreme cases, surgery is required to remove blockages from arteries or to bypass the clogged area.
Grand View Hospital Cardiac Rehab and Lifestyle Fitness Supervised Walking Program
Grand View Hospital Cardiac Rehab and Lifestyle Fitness has a program for people who have PAD. Our staff has the expertise to design a walking program that uses treadmills to increase your walking distance.
Once admission criteria are met, an initial assessment is performed by our cardiac rehab staff. Patients will then visit our fitness gym two to three times a week and commit to walking one additional day on their own. The goal is to increase endurance and the ability to walk for 30 minutes.
Admission Criteria for PAD Program
- Referral by physician
- Completion of Ankle-Brachial Index Test (ABI)
Completion of a Cardiac Stress Test within six months to one year
- Ability to walk independently on a treadmill
- Three-month commitment to adhere to program guidelines
For more information about the program, call 215-453-3260. |
