Lifestyle Changes

Lifestyle Changes

Given the aging population and the significant heart risks associated with peripheral artery disease (PAD), experts believe that aggressive therapies are important.

Their are two treatment goals for PAD and claudication:

• Manage the pain of intermittent claudication, improve functioning, and prevent PAD from getting worse, so that gangrene does not occur
• Reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke)

There is substantial evidence to indicate that even when patients are treated for PAD, they are frequently not being given information or therapies to reduce the risk for heart disease.

Lifestyle changes are critical for every patient with PAD. Medication is often required to improve function and protect the heart. In very severe cases, surgery may be needed to improve blood flow.

Screening for and Managing Diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes have three to four times the usual risk for PAD and intermittent claudication. They also tend to develop PAD at earlier ages and to be at a significant risk for heart disease. Patients with both diabetes and PAD should be screened for heart disease. In a 2003 study, aggressive reduction of blood pressure in patients with PAD who had diabetes significantly reduced their risk for heart attack and stroke. Aggressive reduction of cholesterol levels, usually with a statin drug, is equally important.

Quitting Smoking

Patients who smoke should quit. Smoking is one of the primary risk factors for PAD and a major cause of complications. Quitting smoking may not make leg pain go away, at least not in the short term, but it certainly may keep blockages from getting worse. This reduces the risk to the heart.

Exercise

In addition to quitting smoking, exercise is the most important lifestyle change patients with PAD and intermittent claudication can make.

Exercise to Help the Heart. The benefits of regular moderate exercise for the heart are undisputed. People who maintain an active lifestyle have a 45% lower risk of developing heart disease than do sedentary people. Some studies suggest it is not the length of a single exercise session that counts, but the total daily amount of energy expended. Several, short sessions of intense exercise can be particularly helpful for older people.