By Dr. Vishal Arora
Vascular Medicine
MCGHealth 
 
Do you frequently experience pain in your legs when you’re walking, but none when at rest? This discomfort could be caused by peripheral artery disease, a strong predictor of future heart trouble.

Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, is similar to coronary and carotid artery disease in that it’s caused by plaque buildup - atherosclerosis - on the walls of the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the limbs. PAD is most common in the pelvis and legs. As the plaque buildup hardens and narrows the arteries, it blocks this valuable blood flow, causing pain and numbness.

More importantly, if atherosclerosis is in the leg vessels, it is also likely to be in the major arteries, increasing a person’s risk for heart attack or stroke by six to seven times more than those without PAD. Other damage from PAD includes painful leg and foot sores and gangrene, which left untreated, could lead to amputation.

Besides leg pain, symptoms of PAD could include cramping, weakness, heaviness or tightness in the legs during physical activity. Discomfort or pain experienced quickly and often during inclined walking is also an indicator. But only about half the people with PAD experience blockages severe enough to produce painful climbing, so it’s imperative to see your doctor if you suspect a problem.

Although PAD is serious, it is treatable. If diagnosed early, plaque accumulation in the arteries can be stopped or reversed - significantly reducing your risk of heart attack and other complications - through a series of lifestyle changes, including:

• Maintaining your ideal body weight.
• Eating foods lower in saturated fats.
• Quitting smoking.
• Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels if you are diabetic.
• Exercising and walking regularly.
• Lowering high cholesterol.
• Lowering high blood pressure.

Conversely, a lifestyle opposite of the above recommendations is what constitutes the risks of PAD, with having diabetes, being overweight and smoking leading the list.

When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, medications may be prescribed, such as cholesterol-lowering statins, blood pressure-lowering drugs or medications that thin the blood to minimize the formation of artery-clogging clots.

Treatment alternatives for PAD include stenting, in which your vascular specialist places a stent, or tiny tube, in your artery to keep it open to support blood flow; and angioplasty, a procedure performed by placing a balloon attached to a catheter inside the blocked area to expand the vessel through a series of inflations and deflations. In the more invasive bypass surgery, a vein from elsewhere in your body or a man-made one is attached to your obstructed vein, creating a detour around the blocked section to restore blood flow.

PAD affects about one in three people age 70 or older, but can develop as early as age 50 for those with high risk factors. If you are experiencing unexplained leg pain or have any of the risk factors for peripheral artery disease, talk to your doctor right away. Through a quick diagnosis and an appropriate treatment plan, you’ll not only protect your legs, you’ll protect your heart.

MCG Health, Inc. (d/b/a MCGHealth) is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCGHealth Medical Center, MCGHealth Children’s Medical Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center, and related outpatient facilities and services throughout the state.  For more information, please visit mcghealth.org.