Premature Peripheral Artery Disease

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is a vascular disease that results from plaque and calcium buildup in the peripheral arteries. Our blood vessel system is responsible for supplying our body with nutrition from oxygenated blood. When there is an accumulation of plaque and calcium, it can narrow or even block arteries, which can interrupt essential blood flow and cause catastrophic vascular and cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, strokes, and limb loss in diabetic patients. 

PAD typically affects people over 50 years of age who are overweight, hypertensive, hyperlipidemic, diabetic, have kidney disease, family history, or are current or previous smokers. 

However, there is a “1 percent risk in the United States that PAD is afflicting patients as young as 30 years of age.” Often, when someone develops PAD at an early age, it can be more severe, making it imperative to start intervening regiments, according to the National Library of Medicine. 

A simple screening utilizing ABI (the ankle-brachial index test) is used to measure the blood pressure from the ankle and arm area. Once the blood pressures are taken and compared, a doctor will be able to determine an ankle-brachial index number. This ABI number will let you know if you have a blockage (which would register a numeric value of 0.90 or less) or if you have a marginal risk (0.90 to 0.99). A normal range of 1.0 to 1.4 will let you know that you have no blockage in your peripheral arteries.

According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 among 12- to 18-year-olds and 1 in 4 among 19- to 34-year-olds are pre-diabetic. This increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which can put you at risk for PAD. Another study published in Diabetes Care predicts a huge increase in the number of “youths with diabetes in the US in the coming decades.” 

This increase of diabetic incidences in younger populations will also put these patients at an increased risk of developing PAD at an earlier age than the typical 50-year-old patient. Right now, premature PAD exists, but only in approximately 1% of the population. It remains to be seen whether these incidents increase along with the population of younger diabetics. 

This serves as an important reminder to try to curb obesity-driven diseases with diet and exercise. If you are younger than 50 and have diabetes and are experiencing symptoms of PAD, be particularly mindful. If you have pain upon exertion, this can indicate a lack of blood flow in the legs. If you have numbness or discoloration of the skin in your lower limbs, or wounds that do not heal (especially if you are diabetic), then it is a great idea to get screened by a PAD expert like Dr. David Nabi.

For further information, please call 949-979-7106 to get screened today!