Congressman Payne

The Importance of ABI Tests

Why ABI Tests Are Important for PAD Diagnosis and Treatment

Are you concerned that you’re at risk for peripheral arteryArteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart and other parts of your body. disease (PAD)? There are steps you can take to protect your health. You can maintain healthy lifestyle habits that may prevent the disease. You can also prevent the more serious complications of PAD through early detection and treatment.

PAD symptoms include:

Cold toes or feet
Pain while walking
Nighttime leg pain
Painful heavy legs
Numbness or burning sensations
Wounds that won’t heal
Dry, discolored skin
Gangrene or black tissue

Unfortunately, PAD frequently flies under the radar — as it’s the biggest disease that most people have never heard about. However, there’s a relatively simple diagnostic tool for PAD. The noninvasive ankle-brachial index (ABI) helps healthcare professionals identify the level of risk for PAD and determine the most effective treatment.

PAD Detection and Treatment

An ABI takes as little as ten minutes. By using a blood pressure cuff, healthcare providers can compare the blood pressure in your ankles with the pressure in your arms. If it’s lower in an ankle than an arm, you may have PAD.

Your physician can determine next steps based on the ABI test results. Nonsurgical treatment options may include lifestyle changes, such as exercise, dietary changes and quitting smoking as well as medical management. Minimally invasive endovascular procedures²⁰ — such as angioplasty, atherectomy or stents — or arterial bypass surgery may be necessary in more severe cases of PAD.

ABI tests are important because they can lead to treatment that can stop PAD from getting worse. Ignoring symptoms and putting off medical appointments could result in more serious forms of the disease. This form, called critical limb ischemia, can result in amputation of a toe, foot or leg.

ABI tests are covered by most insurance plans for patients with PAD symptoms. Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. recently introduced the Amputation Reduction and Compassion (ARC) Act. The bipartisan bill would expand coverage for ABI tests and require Medicare, Medicaid and group health insurance plans to fully cover costs for PAD screening tests for at-risk beneficiaries.

For more information

An ABI test is the best first step toward detecting and treating PAD. If you are worried about your or a loved one’s symptoms, insist that your doctor take an ABI.

Early detection of PAD can help relieve symptoms, avoid amputation, save your feet and legs and lead to a better quality of life. Use CSI’s Find a Doctor tool to find a PAD specialist to talk to today.

ARC Act Proposed to Prevent Amputations

The ARC Act is a bipartison effort to prevent PAD-related amputations

The ARC Act — A Bipartisan Effort to Prevent PAD-Related Amputations

Too many of us know people in our communities who’ve had amputations for conditions such as peripheral artery disease (PAD). The procedure is all-too common, especially in minority populations.⁴⁷ But there is hope — with screening and treatment options that can help prevent amputations. Congressional leaders are also trying to make these options accessible to more people.

A proposed bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, called the Amputation Reduction and Compassion (ARC) Act, would boost coverage of services to help Americans avoid losing their toes, feet and legs due to PAD.

What is the ARC Act?

An estimated 20 million Americans have PAD^41–43. Unfortunately, many are unaware of the serious risks posed by the disease. Regular screenings are uncommon, resulting in more than 160,000 PAD-related amputations every year.⁴⁷.

Racial and ethnic minorities are especially at risk. Black Americans and Native Americans are approximately two times more likely than White Americans to experience a nontraumatic amputation due to PAD. Hispanics are up to 50% more likely to have an amputation.^47,62.

But things would change if the ARC Act becomes a law. It would mandate:

Medicare, Medicaid and group health insurance plans to fully cover costs for PAD screening tests for at-risk beneficiaries
Arterial testing prior to non-traumatic amputations to determine if there are alternative intervention options to amputation
Funding for a PAD educational initiative for healthcare professionals and the public about methods to reduce amputations and at-risk populations

With this important legislation, the hope is to reduce the number of amputations that result from advanced PAD.

The ARC Act Legislative Process

The ARC Act bill is sponsored by Representative Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) and originally co-sponsored by Representatives Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Bobby L. Rush (D-IL), Mark Takano (D-CA), Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Katie Porter (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Albio Sires (D-NJ).

Payne, Jr. has long supported bipartisan efforts to reduce PAD-related amputations. He co-founded the PAD Caucus in April 2019 with Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL). Payne, Jr. hopes to raise awareness of PAD and include it in federal government healthcare priorities going forward.

“PAD is treatable, if we catch it early,” Payne, Jr. said in a statement. “Medicare and Medicaid treat our most vulnerable citizens. We need to allow these two critical programs to support medical professionals and patients and not cut critical funding that could cause Americans to lose their limbs.”