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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Senior Citizens Often Have Peripheral Arterial
Disease Without Knowing It
September 18-22 is
Peripheral Arterial Disease Awareness Week
 September
14, 2006 - More than 8 million men and women - one in 20 adults, mostly
senior citizens - have peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a largely
unrecognized condition which puts them at risk for heart attack and
stroke. The symptoms of PAD, such as fatigue, heaviness, pain and
cramping in the leg muscles when walking that go away with rest, are
often mistaken for signs of aging and ignored. More often, the disease
is silent, causing no noticeable symptoms. A coalition is launching a
campaign to make Americans more aware of this risk and a simple test for
detecting the condition.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
of the National Institutes of Health, in partnership with the PAD
Coalition, are launching Stay in Circulation: Take Steps to Learn About
PAD, a national campaign to raise awareness among those at risk.
Men who are older than
age 50 and women who are older than age 55 are at higher risk for PAD.
The campaign encourages men and women over age 50
to be alert to PAD symptoms, to talk to their doctors about their risks,
and to ask about a simple test called the ankle brachial index (ABI).
The ABI test compares blood pressure measurements in the ankle with
those in the arm. It can help detect reduced blood flow to the lower
legs, a sign of PAD
PAD occurs when arteries, particularly in the lower
legs, become clogged with fatty deposits that limit blood flow. Just
like clogged arteries in the heart, having clogged arteries in the legs
increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Those at risk for PAD
include people over 50, particularly African Americans, those who smoke
or have a history of smoking, those with diabetes, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol, or those with a personal or family history of other
vascular diseases, such as heart attack, or stroke.
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The
illustration above shows the location of leg arteries that can
be affected by peripheral arterial disease. Figure A shows a
normal artery with normal blood flow (the inset image shows a
cross-section of the normal artery). Figure B shows an artery
with plaque buildup, which is partially blocking blood flow (the
inset image shows the degree to which the artery is blocked). |
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The
illustration above shows the ankle-brachial index (ABI) test.
The ABI gives the ratio of the systolic blood pressure in the
ankle to the systolic blood pressure in the brachial artery of
the arm. |
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Symptoms of PAD should not be mistaken for
inevitable consequences of aging, said NHLBI Director Elizabeth G.
Nabel, M.D. Early detection and treatment of PAD are important for
staying in circulation and continuing to enjoy life to the fullest.
In addition to the symptoms that occur when
walking, people with severe PAD can experience pain in the feet or legs
that disturbs sleep. However, most people with PAD do not experience leg
pain or any other noticeable symptoms.
Quite often, PAD is untreated until it is most
severe, leaving people vulnerable to heart attack and stroke, said Alan
Hirsch, M.D., chair of the PAD Coalition, professor of epidemiology and
community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health
and director, vascular medicine program at the Minneapolis Heart
Institute and Abbott Northwestern's Vascular Center.
Through this campaign, we are educating patients
and supporting health care providers in evaluating and treating their
patients.
Stay in Circulation: Take Steps to Learn About PAD
is sponsored by the NHLBI in partnership with the PAD Coalition, an
alliance of more than 40 leading health organizations, vascular health
societies and government agencies united to raise public and health
professional awareness about PAD
The Stay in Circulation campaign, rolling out this
fall, includes radio and print public service announcements in English
and Spanish, brochures in English and Spanish, an educational video and
a community tool kit to aid partners in spreading the word about PAD on
the local level. The PAD Coalition is complementing this effort by
providing clinical practice tools and educational resources for health
care providers.
Resources:
> Stay in Circulation: Take Steps to
Learn about PAD Web site:
www.aboutpad.org
> Diseases and Conditions Index:
Peripheral Arterial Disease:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pad/pad_what.html
> PAD Coalition Web site:
www.padcoalition.org
> American Heart
Association:
http://www.americanheart.org
> Vascular
Disease Foundation:
http://www.vdf.org
Notes:
Part of the
National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports research related to the
causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel,
lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also
administers national health education campaigns on women and heart
disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. NHLBI press
releases and other materials are available online at:
www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National
Institutes of Health (NIH) The Nation's Medical Research Agency
includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal
agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational
medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures
for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit
www.nih.gov.
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