What is it about?
We measured walking performance in 97 patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and 35 healthy controls. Individuals with PAD do not get normal blood flow to their legs because of blockages in the leg arteries. This causes pain during walking and over time damage to leg muscles. Blockages can occur around the calf, thigh or higher just below the heart. We wanted to see if the location of the arterial blockage changed how much walking performance was impacted by PAD. Our findings were that the symptoms (pain during walking) were different across the groups depending on where the blockage occurred, but walking performance was not significantly different between any of the PAD groups.
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Why is it important?
Treatment approaches may be different depending on where the blockages are located. Now that we know location of blockages does not change walking performance, treatment approaches can focus more on symptoms and improving functional limitations.
Perspectives
This paper has been personally important to me because I view PAD as a systemic disease that impacts the entire body. Early identification can enable lifestyle changes and conservative treatment approaches to help slow progression of PAD symptoms and impacts on function and quality of life.
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activity Sara A Myers
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Peripheral artery disease affects the function of the legs of claudicating patients in a diffuse manner irrespective of the segment of the arterial tree primarily involved, PLoS ONE, July 2022, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264598.
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