Family Practice and Peripheral Artery Disease
Your family practice physician is your first line of defense against peripheral artery disease. Your doctor can screen you for risk factors. Be honest about your lifestyle including smoking. Your physician will want to follow up with tests and possible referrals if you are diagnosed with this disease. Learn about this disease and the steps you can take to stop progression or prevent the disease. Follow through with your family physician's recommendations.
- Ask your family physician if you are at risk for peripheral artery disease. There are several known risk factors that include smoking, poor diet control, sedentary lifestyle and other diseases present.
- Keep all of your doctor’s appointments and follow through with any screenings, testing or recommendations. Your family physician is you first line of defense against this progressive disease.
- Learn about peripheral artery disease and the causes. Hardening or narrowing of the arteries can damage the kidneys, legs and arms. Progression of this disease can be traumatic as amputation of affected limbs can become a necessary lifesaving operation.
- Start now to change your lifestyle to reduce your risk of this devastating disease. Many times the disease can be prevented or kept from progressing.
- Eat healthy, get enough rest, reduce stress and exercise regularly. These are all preventative treatments that every person can do.
- Stop smoking to ensure a healthier prognosis. Follow your family physician’s guidelines on how to do this safely.
- Make it a habit to carefully check your legs, arms, hands and feet for any sores, bruises or signs of infection. See your physician promptly if you have been diagnosed with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Small cuts can progress quickly to infection of the area, as blood circulation is impaired with PAD. Gangrene can set in if the infection is not promptly treated.
- Follow through with any referrals to specialists who treat PAD. These practitioners are practicing the latest technological treatments. These specialists can perform special procedures to help the blood flow to the affected areas.