Peripheral Artery Disease 101

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risk factors

By Chrystle Fiedler

Does your leg hurt when you walk? It could be a blocked leg artery, which increases your chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Early detection and exercise are keys to risk reduction.

It was supposed to be a fun family vacation to Disney World, but it didn’t turn out that way. “I knew something was wrong. The cramping in my legs was so bad I could hardly walk. It pretty much ruined it for everyone,” says Frances Martin of Pasadena, Maryland. Once home, Frances was diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Nearly 30 million Americans have the disease, caused by blocked arteries outside the heart—typically in the legs. Those with PAD are three times more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than those who don’t have it.

Risk Factors
You may be at risk for PAD if you’re older than 50, a smoker, African-American, or have diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, or a personal or family history of cardiovascular disease. Frances had three of these risk factors.
           
At one time, PAD was considered a male disease. “Historically it was said that PAD was three to four times more common in men, but over the past four or five decades women have taken on many of the risk factors that were more unique to men, like smoking, high stress, and dietary indiscretion,” says William Flinn, M.D., vice chairman of the American Vascular Association (AVA) and professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “Predictably, women now have risk factors that approximate those of men.”