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Who Is At Risk for Peripheral Arterial Disease?
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Posted: April 1, 2008
Major risk factors for developing Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) include:
- Smoking, which is more closely related to developing PAD than any other risk factor. Stopping smoking will slow the progress of PAD. On average, smokers who develop PAD experience symptoms 10 years earlier than nonsmokers who develop the disease. Smokers and diabetics have the greatest risk of complications from PAD, including gangrene in the leg from decreased blood flow.
- Chronic or serious illnesses, such as diabetes.
- Other diseases and conditions, such as:
- Kidney disease
- High blood pressure or a family history of it
- A high cholesterol level or a family history of it
- Heart disease or a family history of it
- A family history of stroke
- Age. Men who are older than age 50 and women who are older than age 55 are at higher risk for PAD.
Because it is difficult to predict how quickly the disease will progress, persistent leg pain or life-altering claudication (discomfort that occurs in the calf or thigh with walking and relieved with rest) should be evaluated as soon as possible by your physician.
Source: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
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