Peripheral arterial disease
PAD Check
I have an important message for diabetics and anyone who may have symptoms of a pre-diabetic condition. It’s time for a PAD check.
“PAD” is peripheral arterial disease, an ailment that reduces blood flow to the legs due to arteries that have been narrowed by damage associated with diabetes.
A panel organized by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recently concluded that more than 12 million Americans may have PAD, but most of them are undiagnosed because they’re not even aware of the potential problem. What’s worse, many general practitioners are also uninformed about the PAD- diabetes connection, so they don’t include PAD testing as a standard element of diabetic care.
Fortunately, testing is very simple. It’s called “ankle brachial index.” Blood pressure is checked in the ankle and compared to a blood pressure reading from the arm. PAD is indicated if the ankle BP is significantly lower than the arm BP. A diagnosis of PAD is also a tip that the cardiovascular system may be in greater danger of heart attack and stroke.
The ADA panel recommends regular PAD testing for all diabetics over 50, as well as anyone who finds their legs hurting or tiring easily after walking. Although PAD occurs mostly among older diabetics, the panel says that young diabetics should also be checked if they’ve had diabetes for more than 10 years, and especially if they have other PAD risk factors, such as smoking and high blood pressure.
In cases of advanced PAD, surgery is sometimes needed to bypass obstructed arteries. For milder cases, exercise is recommended, and medications are often prescribed to thin the blood and reduce heart attack risk. But if your doctor should find evidence of PAD and immediately prescribes a statin drug or a beta blocker, you might want to seek a second opinion from an M.D. who’s not so quick to follow the pharmaceutical route.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
Source:
“Diabetics Urges to Get Tested for Leg Disease” Associated Press, 1/19/04, msnbc.com
