FREE SCREENINGS HELP TO RAISE
THE AWARENESS OF PVD, ITS SYMPTOMS

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More than 8 million men and women—one in 20 adults—have peripheral vascular disease (PVD) also referred to as peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a largely unrecognized condition which puts them at risk for heart attack and stroke. The symptoms of PVD, such as fatigue, heaviness, pain and cramping in the leg muscles when walking that go away with rest, are often mistaken for signs of aging and ignored. Symptoms will start developing when not enough blood is delivered by the narrowed arteries to the muscles of the legs. More often, the disease is silent, causing no noticeable symptoms.

Doctors Hospital along with Vascular Surgeon, Dr. Delton Farquahson, provided free PVD clinics in order to raise awareness of this disease and to assess those persons who may, by their symptoms, have PVD.

PVD occurs when arteries, particularly in the lower legs, become clogged with fatty deposits that limit blood flow. Just like clogged arteries in the heart, having clogged arteries in the legs increases the risk of heart attacks and stroke. Those at risk for PVD include people over 50, particularly blacks, those who smoke or have a history of smoking, those with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or those with a personal or family history of other vascular diseases, such as heart attack, or stroke.
“Symptoms of PVD should not be mistaken for inevitable consequences of aging,” said Dr. Farquharson, “Early detection and treatment of PVD are important for staying in circulation and continuing to enjoy life to the fullest.  In addition to the symptoms that occur when walking, people with severe PVD can experience pain in the feet or legs that disturbs sleep.  Quite often, PVD is untreated until it is most severe, leaving people vulnerable to heart attack and stroke. Through this campaign, we are educating, evaluating and treating patients.”

Through the free screening process, many of the persons attending learned that many people have a certain amount of atheroma (fatty deposits) developing in the arteries as they become older but by far the main cause of the clogged arteries is smoking. The chemicals that get into the blood stream from smoking are the main reason why, for many people, this condition becomes worse.
So, what can be done to prevent PVD?  Stop smoking - if you smoke this point cannot be emphasized enough. This is the single most effective treatment. This can stop the progression of the disease and combined with regular exercise, symptoms are unlikely to become worse and may improve. Exercise regularly - daily exercises using the leg muscles, for example, walking, cycling, swimming etc, encourages blood vessels to develop in the muscles. A committed exercise program will sometimes not only stop things becoming worse but will often improve symptoms over several months. This is because regular exercise encourages other smaller arteries to enlarge.  Diabetes - in people with diabetes, good control of the diabetes helps to prevent the condition becoming worse. Keep the feet warm - warm socks, etc, will help with symptoms. Although surgery is often successful in the more severe cases of PVD, many of these can be prevented and surgery not needed.

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