Peripheral artery disease – PAD – results from narrowing of the arteries supplying blood to your legs. PAD is dangerous since it could lead to complications like heart disease, stroke or (yikes!) lower limb amputation.

None of that sounds like much fun. The good news is that screening for the disease is simple. Doctors compare the blood pressure in the feet or leg to that of the arm. If an abnormal ratio is found, additional tests like an ultrasound or MRI may be performed.

“People don’t recognize that leg cramps while walking may be due to circulation problems that put them at risk for heart disease and stroke,” said Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada researcher Dr. Ross Tsuyuki, speaking to the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009.

Researchers caution that PAD contributes to thousands of deaths each year, and the disease is under-diagnosed. People over age 40 or anyone with symptoms should be tested. Though some people with PAD may have no symptoms, there are signs to look for:

• Leg pain during exercise
• Open sores that don’t heal
• Feeling of coldness or numbness in one or both legs
• Pain in the toes at night

Risk factors for PAD include smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and heart disease or stroke. According to the American Heart Association, PAD affects around 8 million Americans.

Do you experience unexplained leg pain with walking?

(Image via flickr/misserion)

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Pain in Leg Could Be Angina

The patients were divided into three groups at the start of the study. The high-exposure group was composed of 21,292 patients. They took both medications  (40 milligrams of lovastatin and 20 milligrams of lisinopril) more than half the time throughout the two years. The amount of time they took the medications was determined by a review of pharmacy records. The low-exposure group of 47,268 people took the two medications less than half the time, while 101,464 people did not take the medications and were considered to be no-exposure.

According to a press release issued by Kaiser Permanente,

The researchers found that among the study population as a whole, there were 21 heart attacks and strokes per 1,000 people in 2006. Among the 47,268 people in the group that had low exposure to the drugs, there were 726 fewer heart attacks and strokes than in the no exposure group, equivalent to a reduction of 15 heart attacks and strokes per 1,000 people. Among the 21,292 people in the high- exposure group, there were 545 fewer heart attacks and strokes, equivalent to a reduction of 26 heart attacks and strokes per 1,000 people. The study estimated this effect to be a 60 percent savings of these events.

This is a good finding because it shows that it may be possible to significantly reduce heart and stroke events.

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2 Low-Cost Drugs May Prevent Strokes

TIAs are strokes that last only a few minutes. The blood flow is blocked, as in a full-blown stroke, but then is restored. Symptoms of a TIA may range from very mild stroke-like symptoms to very severe ones. The researchers found that one of out every eight strokes followed an earlier TIA. The findings of the study were published in the September 29th issue of the medical journal Neurology.

The researchers looked at over 16,000 patients who had a stroke. Among them, 12.4% experienced a TIA before the stroke. Interestingly, people who did not have a TIA had more serious strokes than did the people who did have TIAs.

Those without TIAs were:

• more likely to die (15.2% compared with 12.7%)
• more likely to have a cardiac (heart) arrest (4.8% compared with 3.1%)
• less likely to return home after hospitalization (40.1% compared with 43.1%)

That being said, many people who had TIAs still had serious strokes afterwards. If you think you may have had a TIA, talk to your doctor as soon as possible. You may be able to prevent a more serious event.

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1 in 8 Chance of a Warning Stroke

People at highest risk of PAD are those who smoke or have diabetes, but also people who are African American and seniors have a higher risk than most others.

PAD isn’t rare. It’s estimated that about 10 million American live with PAD.

Since PAD doesn’t have any symptoms* until it has been present for a while and is causing problems, finding out if you’re at risk may help you seek help and be diagnosed before it becomes an issue. For this reason, the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation recommends that older Americans, smokers and diabetics take its free, online self-assessment quiz.

According to a press release issued by the foundation,

The online quiz at SIRF’s Legs for Life® Web site (www.legsforlife.org) helps assess health, family and lifestyle risks for PAD. The higher one’s score, the more important it is for that individual to discuss the quiz’s results with his or her doctor.

The Legs for Life program is

a community health and public information program of SIR Foundation—began a decade ago because interventional radiologists—vascular experts who treat PAD—recognized that the disease is a major public health problem with a growing incidence, yet awareness among the general public and nonvascular health care providers is low. The primary goals of Legs for Life® are to educate the public, primary care physicians and the medical community; identify patients at risk through screenings; and strengthen collaborative relationships among health care professionals who treat this condition.
Legs for Life® offers a free national screening program dedicated to improving the cardiovascular health of the community with the early detection of PAD during September’s national PAD awareness month. In September, limited free testing is available for PAD at Legs for Life® sites around the country.

Are you at risk? Maybe you should be checked, just to be sure.

*Symptoms of PAD, once it has been present for a while include (MayoClinic.com):

• Painful cramping in your hip, thigh or calf muscles after walking or climbing stairs (intermittent claudication)
• Leg numbness or weakness
• Coldness in your lower leg or foot, especially when compared with the other leg
• Sores on your toes, feet or legs that won’t heal
• A change in the color of your legs
• Hair loss on your feet and legs
• Changes in your toenails

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Peripheral Artery Disease Risk Quiz

According to the Ithica Journal, pregnant women who have migraines “are 15 times more likely than other women to suffer a stroke, twice as likely to have heart disease and three times more likely to have blood clots and other vascular problems during pregnancy.”

The study also found that women over 35 were more likely to experience migraines. The condition was also present in white more often than in other ethnic or racial groups.

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Danger of Migraines During Pregnancy

In the first condition, women showed an increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in her life. In the second, a woman’s overall risk of dying, stroke, and heart disease increased.

Studies like this are often scary if not properly explained and understood. If you have had a preemie or underweight baby, you should ask your doctor how it could affect your heart health going forward. Likewise if you are having your ovaries removed, discuss all the possible risks, both immediate and future, before deciding on a course of treatment.

Image from StockXchange.

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Women’s Heart & Reproductive System Linked

My sister married when I was 8 years old, her husband was like another father to me. Don was my hero he was always so full of life and included me in his mad adventures, with his children.

Don was over six feet three inches tall and weighed about 240, he was always outdoors, his only faults were smoking and eating fatty foods. He was never sick so there was no need to go to the doctor, so he thought.

Imagine our surprise when we found that he was an extremely ill man with diabetes.

He fought a good fight in every way, but he would not give up his smoking. The doctors told him that the medicine that he was taking could not help him if he continued to smoke.

Don died in a nursing home with heart failure, unable to walk; he took a large part of my heart with him.

If you have a loved one that is fighting diabetes please do all you can to help them to give up smoking.

Patient’s with diabetes should have an AIC glucose test twice a year. Diabetics blood pressure should be no more than 130/80mmHg. Their Cholesterol LDL (bad) needs to be below 100 mg/dl their HDL (good) should be above 40mg/dl for men and 50 mg/dl for women. 

Currently, 2 out of 3 people with diabetes in the United States die from a heart attack or stroke. Diet and exercise can help reduce the risk of developing diabetes-related complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and amputations. In many cases, medicine is also needed to keep diabetes under control.

For more information click here MSNBC.

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Diabetes Stroke And Heart Attack

There are normal headaches caused by stress, eyestrain or allergies this type of headache will fade. If the headaches persist you should see your health care provider. If you experience a headache that feels as if your head will explode and it persists you need to see your health care provider immediately, this could be the sign of bleeding in the brain.

Patients going to an emergency room that are aware of what is going on within their body, can actually help the doctor to diagnose their problem more efficiently.

I found an article that has six serious medical symptoms listed, that would be great to copy and place somewhere so that you could have easy access to it.

To find the article click here Six Serious Medical Symptoms.

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Warnings Of Serious Problems

There are ongoing lawsuits due to the side effects of the contraceptive which include risks of blood clots, stroke.

You should always research any medications before having them prescribed for you.

Here are a few more side effects of the NuvaRing birth control.

• Deep Vein Thrombosis
• Pulmonary Embolysm
• Heart Attack
• Death

To find more information on this type of birth control click here NuvaRing

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NuvaRing Birth Control

CRP(C-reactive protein) inflammation encourages plaque to form in the blood vessels. This plaque will eventually cause the blood vessels to rupture causing a heart attack or stroke.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is often shortened to CPR. When your health care provider is explaining your disorder they will usually use the term CRP.  You will see CRP in written articles also.

If you are experiencing any health problems related to your heart make an appointment with your health care provider immediately. Be sure to tell them at the time of your appointment, you would like your cholesterol and CRP levels checked.

People who are otherwise healthy but have high CRP levels are more likely than those with low CRP levels to have heart disease and its complications, such as heart attacks, strokes, sudden cardiac death, and peripheral arterial disease (hardening of the arteries in the legs, which causes leg cramps and poor circulation in the legs and feet). In fact, people with high CRP have 2 or 3 times the risk of heart disease compared to people with low CRP levels.

You can find more informative on this site Heart Health.

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CRP Heart Inflammation