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Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Treatment in the Salt Lake City area of Utah
Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) FAQs
What is peripheral arterial disease?
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a circulation problem that causes narrowed arteries. Narrow arteries reduce blood flow to your arms or legs. It’s often a sign of fatty deposit buildup in your arteries.
You can often treat peripheral arterial disease successfully by improving your diet, increasing exercise, and avoiding tobacco use.
What are the symptoms of peripheral arterial disease?
It is possible to have peripheral artery disease without symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they may include:
- Feeling cold in lower leg or foot
- Pain and cramping in hips, thighs, or calf muscles after physical activity
- Leg weakness or numbness
- Sores on your feet or legs that won’t heal
- Discolored legs
- Slower hair growth on legs and feet
- Slower toenail growth
- Weak pulse in legs or feet
- Pain when using your arms for routine activities
Men with peripheral arterial disease may also experience erectile dysfunction. If you start experiencing peripheral arterial disease symptoms, it’s usually an indication of disease progression.
If peripheral artery disease progresses, you may start to experience pain even when you’re not moving around. Pain may even be severe enough to wake you up at night.
How is peripheral arterial disease diagnosed?
Advanced Foot & Ankle Center uses cutting-edge technology to diagnose peripheral arterial disease. The QuantaFlo PAD test is a noninvasive procedure that accurately measures blood flow in your arms and legs. A sensor is placed on a toe on your right foot and then your left, and repeated on your right and left fingers to compare readings.
There is no pain or discomfort during the QuantaFlo test and it only takes about 10 minutes. When complete, the software analyzes blood circulation in your body and compares differences in blood flow between your arms and legs.
The QuantaFlo PAD test allows the team to accurately diagnose peripheral arterial disease and develop customized treatment plans to recover. Because PAD may also affect your heart, Advanced Foot & Ankle Center works closely with an interventional cardiologist who specializes in PAD treatment.