Also called: Also called: PAD
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) happens when there is a narrowing of the blood vessels outside of your heart. A substance made up of fat and cholesterol, called plaque, builds up on the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the arms and legs. The plaque causes the arteries to narrow or become blocked. This can reduce or stop blood flow, usually to the legs, causing them to hurt or feel numb. If severe enough, blocked blood flow can cause tissue death. If this condition is left untreated, the foot or leg may need to be amputated.
A person with PAD also has an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and transient ischemic attack. You can often stop or reverse the buildup of plaque in the arteries with dietary changes, exercise, and efforts to lower high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
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Peripheral Arterial Disease
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pad/pad_what.html
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Peripheral Vascular Disease(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4692
Also available in Spanish http://es.aha.drtango.com/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4692
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JAMA Patient Page: Peripheral Arterial Disease(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/295/5/584.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/295/5/584/DC1/1
- Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/peripheral-arterial-disease/DS00537/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Leg_Artery_Disease.html
- Secondhand Smoke Tied to Artery Disease in Women(09/22/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69544.html
- Angiogram(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Angiogram.html
- Ankle Blood Pressure Measurement (ABI)(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Ankle_Blood_Pressure_Measurement_ABI.html
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Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA)(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angioct
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=angioct
- Duplex Ultrasound(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Duplex_Ultrasound.html
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MR Angiography (MRA)(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angiomr
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=angiomr&bhcp=1
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Ultrasound - Vascular(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=vascularus&bhcp=1
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=vascularus
- Amputation(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Amputation.html
- Angioplasty and Stenting(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Angioplasty_and_Stenting.html
- Antiplatelet Drugs(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/drugs/antiplatelet_drugs/hic_antiplatelet_drugs.aspx
- Endarterectomy(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Endarterectomy.html
- Surgical Bypass(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Surgical_Bypass.html
- Thrombolytic Therapy(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Thrombolytic_Therapy.html
- PAD Risk Factors and Possible Complications(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3020256
- Aortoiliac Occlusive Disease(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Aortoiliac_Occlusive_Disease.html
- Arm Artery Disease(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Arm_Artery_Disease.html
- Buerger's Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/buergers-disease/DS00807/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Critical Limb Ischemia: What Is It?(Vascular Disease Foundation) - http://www.vdf.org/diseaseinfo/cli/
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Facts about Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.) for African Americans(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - Links to PDF - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/pad/docs/pad_extfactsheet_aa_508.pdf
- Functional Peripheral Arterial Disease(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec03/ch034/ch034c.html
- Gangrene(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/gangrene/DS00993/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Occlusive Peripheral Arterial Disease(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec03/ch034/ch034b.html
- Peripheral Aneurysms(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Peripheral_Aneurysms.html
- About Peripheral Arterial Disease(Peripheral Arterial Disease Coalition) - Links to PDF - http://www.padcoalition.org/about-pad/
- Claudication(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - https://www.mayoclinic.com/print/claudication/DS01052/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
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Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and Limb Loss
(Amputee Coalition of America) - http://www.amputee-coalition.org/easyread/fact_sheets/dysvascular-ez.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.amputee-coalition.org/spanish/fact_sheets/dysvascular.html -
Peripheral Arterial Disease and Claudication(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/heartdisease/basics/008.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/heartdisease/basics/008.printerview.html
- Vascular Pain(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/pain_management/hic_vascular_pain.aspx
- Are You at Risk for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)?(Society of Interventional Radiology) - http://www.legsforlife.org/pad_test.shtml
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Cryoplasty Therapy: Innovative Technique to Remedy Blood Vessel Blockage Resulting from Peripheral Arterial Disease(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - 5/02/2007 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=498
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Procedures for Improving Circulation to the Legs(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - 5/10/2007 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=511
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Intermittent Claudication(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Intermittent+Claudication%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Peripheral Vascular Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Peripheral+Vascular+Diseases%22
- Global Positioning Tracker May Better Gauge Severity of Peripheral Artery Disease(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053554
- Insulin Resistance Linked to Peripheral Artery Disease(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=436
- Low Vitamin D Levels Associated with an Increased Risk of Peripheral Arterial Disease(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=393
- Multi-Year Data Shows Treatment Prevents Amputation and Safely Opens Small Blocked Arteries below the Knee(Society of Interventional Radiology) - Links to PDF - http://www.sirweb.org/news/newsPDF/2007am/Saad_Limb_Salvage_and_PAD.pdf
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Secondhand Smoke Linked to Peripheral Artery Disease in Women(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=518
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: The predictive value of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in coronary... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18716354&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Peripheral arterial disease in general and diabetic population. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18705464&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Prevalence of peripheral arterial disease in patients with diabetes mellitus... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18705445&tool=MedlinePlus
- Peripheral Arterial Disease -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=peripheral+vascular+diseases[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Find a Peripheral Vascular Disease Screening Site(Society of Interventional Radiology) - http://www.legsforlife.org/findlfl.shtml
- Find a Vascular Specialist(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/Member_Search/Physician_Search.html
- Find an Accredited Echocardiography Laboratory or Vascular Laboratory(American Society of Echocardiography) - http://www.asecho.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3333
- American Heart Association - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
- Society of Interventional Radiology - http://www.sirweb.org/
- Women and Vascular Disease(Society of Interventional Radiology) - http://www.sirweb.org/patients/peripheral-arterial-disease/
- Carotid Artery Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/carotidarterydisease.html
- Thrombophlebitis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/thrombophlebitis.html
- Varicose Veins - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/varicoseveins.html
- Vascular Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vasculardiseases.html
- Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Peripheral Arterial Disease is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
Peripheral Arterial Disease - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/peripheralarterialdisease.html