Understanding PAD

Symptoms:

All patients with PAD are at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke and some are at risk of losing a limb to amputation as a result of non-treatment. If arterial disease is caught early, it can be treated conservatively with lifestyle, diet, exercise and medication. Left untreated, however, the disease can progress to the point of causing symptoms such as:

• Pain, numbness or heaviness in your legs especially when walking or climbing stairs
• Burning pain in the toes and feet when at rest, or that disturbs your sleep
• Sores or wounds on your legs, feet and toes that fail to heal
• Color changes in your feet that turn the skin pale or blue
• Poor nail growth and/or decreased hair growth on legs and toes
• In men, erectile dysfunction, especially if you also have diabetes