September is Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Awareness Month Are You at Risk?
Hays, Kansas (September 8, 2016) – September is Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) awareness month. At least 1 in 20 people, over the age of 50, has PAD. This is a common and potentially life-threatening vascular disease that affects the vessels in the legs and can lead to heart attack, stroke, amputation and even death.
HaysMed’s Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center and Debakey Heart Institute are teaming up to spread awareness of the risk factors and also steps you can take to get a simple screening for PAD.
PAD occurs when arteries in the legs become narrowed or blocked with fat deposits. This reduces the flow of blood to the legs which can result in muscle pain in the legs. Blocked arteries in the legs can be a warning sign that other arteries, including those in the heart and brain, may also be clogged which increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
People 50 and over are at the greatest risk for PAD. Additional risk factors include a history of smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high or abnormal cholesterol numbers and a personal history of coronary heart disease or stroke.
Symptoms you may have PAD include tire, cramping leg muscles in the calf, thigh or buttocks, which occurs during light physical activity such as walking and goes away after resting. Other symptoms include foot or toe pain that disturbs your sleep or skin wounds or ulcers on the feet or toes that are slow to heal.
The good news is that a simple test, called an ankle brachial index screening is available. HaysMed offers the screening on a regular basis at DeBakey Heart Institute. The screening is quick, painless and non-invasive. The cost is $30 and you do not have to have a physician’s order to schedule a screening.
For more information to schedule a screening please call 1-855-429-7633.
