What you need to know about peripheral arterial disease

What you need to know about peripheral arterial disease

In yesterday’s e-Alert (“Pennies from Heaven” 11/3/08), I told you about a study in which diabetic patients had also been diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) – a disorder that deserves more attention than I was able to give it yesterday.

In PAD, diabetic complications contribute to narrowing of the arteries and reduced blood flow to the legs.

Four years ago, a panel organized by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) concluded that more than 12 million Americans may have PAD, but most of them are undiagnosed. 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.

Your doctor can easily perform a simple PAD testing technique 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 suggests that young diabetics should also be checked if they’ve had diabetes for more than 10 years, and especially if other PAD risk factors, such as smoking and high blood pressure, are part of the picture.