On the periphery A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing -- especially when that "little bit" just isn't enough to protect you from serious health risks. Consider your arteries, for example. You know you need to keep the ones surrounding your heart in good working order -- free from the snags caused by homocysteine, the clogs caused by cholesterol and triglycerides that stick to those snags, and the inflammation caused by C-reactive protein. That's a great basis -- one that a lot of devout mainstream medicine followers don't have, thanks to Big Pharma's heavy focus only on cholesterol levels. But what you don't know about your arteries, particularly the arteries in your legs, might not only surprise you -- it might put you at risk for the same complications you're trying to avoid by keeping your heart healthy, not to mention other equally unpleasant situations. You see, the arteries in your legs are just as prone to clots and clogs as the ones around your heart. It's a condition called peripheral artery disease (PAD), and a recent survey published in the journal Circulation showed that only 25 percent of adults are aware of it, despite the fact that it affects around 8 million people in this country. Rather than causing reduced blood flow to the heart, PAD causes less blood to flow to the legs. And the results, like severe leg pain while walking, can impact your ability to lead a normal life. If it goes unchecked long enough, the only option for "treating" PAD is leg amputation. Which is precisely why it's so critical for you to learn about it and to take the necessary precautions now, before it's too late to save your arteries, or your legs. Your first step is to determine your risk. If you smoke (or used to smoke), have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease, or have suffered a heart attack or stroke, your risk is higher than average. From there, see if you have any of the most common symptoms of PAD. These include: - Fatigue, tiredness, or pain in your legs, thighs or buttocks when you walk that goes away when you rest.
- Foot or toe pain that occurs when you're not walking or on your feet (especially pain that frequently keeps you up at night).
- Skin wounds or ulcers on your feet or toes that are slow to heal (8 to 12 weeks or more).
If any of these conditions apply to you, you should get screened for PAD. There are screening sites throughout the country and many are free. To locate one near you, visit the PAD coalition's website, www.padcoalition.org. If you can't find a screening location near you, ask your doctor to perform an ankle-brachial index test on you. This compares the blood pressure in your ankles with the blood pressure in your arms. If you do have PAD, or even if you're just at risk, the best ways to tackle it are the same ways you keep your other arteries clean. For Dr. Wright's top tips on keeping your heart and arteries healthy, Nutrition & Healing subscribers can refer back to the special bonus report titled "New Secrets for Repairing Your Heart and Arteries," which you received when you first began your subscription. If you don't still have a copy, you can download this report for free by visiting www.wrightnewsletter.com and logging on to the archives with the username and password listed on page 8 of your most recent newsletter issue. (The website also provides information on how to become a subscriber: If you're not already receiving Nutrition & Healing, now is the perfect time to consider it -- after all, the more you know, the better off your health will be.) Source:
"Many adults in the dark about leg artery disease," Reuters Health news, 9/24/07 |
