Water is essential for life, which means staying hydrated is as important as exercise and a healthy diet. Our bodies work to help us with this. If you are feeling thirsty, you are already dehydrated. That feeling you get of being "thirsty" is the result of changes in your blood volume that send a message to the hypothalamus in your brain to give you the feeling of thirst, all to get you to drink water!

A study in the Journal of Vascular Surgery showed that being hydrated may be responsible for decreasing claudication and rest pain symptoms. The data indicated that consuming at least a half a gallon of water every day along with a daily intake of albumin—enough to achieve a 4 g/dL albumin blood level—could improve most symptoms of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). Moreover, being well-hydrated also helps to boost the ankle-brachial index. If you have PAD, this should drive home the importance of including hydration maintenance as part of your routine vascular health management.

Older populations and those with chronic diseases are especially at risk for dehydration. Being dehydrated can affect your organs, heart, and cardiovascular system. When you are not drinking enough water, your blood volume will decline. This leads your body to react by increasing your blood pressure and heart rate. Your body also retains more sodium when you are dehydrated, thickening your blood and making your blood circulation sluggish.

If you are elderly, dehydration can quickly progress to something more serious, such as heat stroke or even a heart attack. Not staying hydrated puts undue stress on your heart and can induce a heart attack. A health study by Loma Linda University Health “followed 34,000 Californians over 15 years and found that both men and women who drank five or more glasses of water per day had about half the risk of dying of coronary heart disease.” 

Something to consider when trying to stay on top of your hydration game is that there are scenarios where you will require more water intake. If you are exercising vigorously, or if you live in a desert or a muggy climate, you are losing water through perspiration, which needs to be replenished. Also, if you are sick with a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, you will need to increase your water intake since you are losing fluids due to illness.

There is no “one size fits all” water recommendation. Water intake varies from person to person depending on the climate where you live, how active you are, how long you exercise, or whether you have a chronic illness that restricts fluid intake. However, an average goal of eight

8-ounce glasses of water is beneficial to most people. The commonly recommended "8 glasses a day" rule can be tweaked depending on your circumstances and your body’s needs. There are other ways to get water, such as food sources like watermelon or spinach. One of the many benefits of a diet with lots of fruits and vegetables is that not only does it provide nutrition, but hydration as well.

Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water is a problem not just for PAD patients, but for all types of people. Signs that you are dehydrated include dry mouth, being thirsty, not urinating enough, having dark urine output, headaches, cramps, and feeling dizzy or disoriented. Staying hydrated is crucial to your well-being. If you have been diagnosed with PAD, you need to know how much water is optimal for your daily intake; drinking too much or too little can be harmful. It is imperative to know if you have any contraindications concerning fluid intake, which is something to discuss with your physician. Work with your doctor to design a personalized daily water intake goal.

Set up reminders to drink water throughout the day, such as an alarm on your phone. With how busy we are, it is easy to lose track or forget to take that sip, so it helps if you purchase a water bottle with fluid measurements labeled along the side. Trying to stay hydrated and active while maintaining a vascular-friendly diet is a daily action you can take to improve your vascular health and symptoms.

The first step is to call your doctor or vascular surgeon to get a plan in place. Once you have a health plan to follow, you can start living a vascular-friendly life.

For more information about staying hydrated and healthy with PAD, contact Dr. David Nabi at NewportVascular.com. A vascular-friendly life is one phone call away!