Screening for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
Main Page | Risk Factors | Symptoms | Diagnosis | Treatment | Screening | Reducing Your Risk | Talking to Your Doctor | Living With PAD | Resource Guide
The purpose of screening is early diagnosis and treatment. Screening tests are usually administered to people without symptoms, but who may be at high risk for certain diseases or conditions.
Because peripheral artery disease caused by atherosclerosis is a progressive condition, screening is directed at detecting the causative diseases: smoking, high blood pressure , diabetes , blood fat disorders (such as high cholesterol), and obesity . Your annual health check-up is designed to detect the earliest signs of these major diseases.
Screening Tests
Visual inspection —Your doctor should look carefully at the skin of all of your limbs during regular check-ups. Changes in skin texture and/or color, the presence of ulcerations, or nonhealing wounds may indicate PAD.
Pulses —Your doctor can listen and feel for pulses in your feet and groins. Bruits (abnormal sounds in the arteries heard with a stethoscope) and weak pulses are signs of possible PAD.
Ankle-brachial index (ABI) —To determine the ABI, your doctor takes pressures in both arms and ankles using a blood pressure cuff and a simple device to detect blood flow called a Doppler. The blood pressure readings are then used to calculate your ABI. A value less than or equal to 0.9 signals PAD.
Blood pressure —Your doctor should check your blood pressure at every visit. Blood pressure that is lower in one limb than in the others may indicate PAD in the vessels serving that limb.
Urine and blood sugar —These routine tests can identify diabetes, a major risk for vascular disease.
Blood fats —A lipid panel measures total cholesterol, both good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides. Abnormal blood fats are a risk factor for PAD. Proper treatment of blood fat disorders (hyperlipidemias) can reduce the incidence of atherosclerotic disease.
References:
American Heart Association website. Available at: http://www.americanheart.org/ . Accessed August 14, 2008.
Braunwald E, Fauci AS, eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine . 16th ed. McGraw-Hill Professional; 2004.
Textbook of Clinical Neurology 2nd ed. W.B. Saunders; 2003.
Last reviewed July 2008 by Michael J. Fucci, DO
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © 2007 EBSCO Publishing All rights reserved.