PAD specialist

What Doctors Diagnose and Treat Peripheral Artery Disease

What Doctors Diagnose and Treat Peripheral Artery Disease?

Are you worried that pain in your leg is getting worse? Or are you experiencing cold toes or feet? Sometimes you may even have numbness or burning sensations in your legs.

You may be experiencing symptoms of peripheral artery disease (PAD).

It’s important to not assume these symptoms as part of the normal aging process because if not detected early, PAD could lead to amputation. But what type of doctor or PAD specialist should you see for help?

Start with your primary care physician

See your primary care physician (PCP) if you’re experiencing any leg pain, wounds that won’t heal or dry, discolored skin. Before arriving at a PAD diagnosis, your PCP will initially consider your:

Medical history. Expect questions about your history of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol levels, previous surgical and interventional radiological procedures, chronic kidney disease and more. Your PCP also will ask you about your smoking history.
Family’s medical history. Do you have one or more members of your immediate family who have undergone surgical procedures on arteries in the legs like balloon angioplasty, stent or surgical bypass before the age of 65? Do you have a relative who has had a non-traumatic foot or lower leg amputation?
Clinical examination. Your doctor may assess you for weak or absent artery pulses, measure blood pressure with the ankle-brachial index (ABI) test, take blood, and check your skin and nails for poor wound healing and changes in color.

When to see a PAD specialist

For early-stage PAD, your doctor may recommend long-lasting lifestyle changes.³⁴ “You often can successfully treat peripheral artery disease by quitting tobacco, exercising and eating a healthy diet,” according to the Mayo Clinic. PCPs can also treat moderate cases with medication.

However, for more advanced cases of PAD, your PCP may recommend seeing a PAD specialist, such as:

Interventional cardiologists or radiologists who perform minimally invasive procedures like angioplasty, atherectomy or stenting to restore blood flow.
Vascular specialists who treat blood vessel diseases and can perform lower extremity bypass surgery to treat PAD. This bypass graft surgery in the leg removes a healthy blood vessel in the leg and grafts it above and below the blockage.
Cardiologists who may be consulted in case of heart problems, such as congenital heart disease (CHD), chest pains and a heart attack, associated with PAD.

Don’t wait to talk to a doctor about your symptoms. Seeing a PCP and getting an early diagnosis can make a big difference in your health — and possibly save you from amputation.

For more information

Take CSI’s interactive Symptom Quiz if you’re concerned about PAD. The quiz offers a list of questions to help you talk with your PCP. You can also use our Find a Doctor tool to locate a PAD specialist near you.

Consider a Doctor’s Reputation When Looking for a Second Opinion Before Amputation

Consider a Doctor’s Reputation When Looking for a Second Opinion Before Amputation

There are 160,000 amputations related to peripheral artery disease (PAD) performed every year in the U.S.³ Many of these patients might have avoided such a drastic procedure with a strong clinical support team.

Gain Insight Before Making a Decision

In this video, Kym McNicholas, founder of The Way to My Heart (a non-profit that directly supports patients in their effort to get high-quality care for PAD), and Dr. John Phillips, an interventional cardiologist at OhioHealth Physician Group in Columbus, OH, discuss exploring every possibility before accepting an amputation:

Don’t just follow doctor’s orders when faced with amputation. Actively seek a second opinion if your doctor isn’t a PAD specialist or doesn’t offer a limb salvage program.³³

Unfortunately, amputation as a treatment is often accepted at face value.

“Patients that have been raised to trust their doctors ― no matter what ― will listen to whatever their doctor says,” says Dr. Phillips. “And if the doctor says it’s an amputation, it’s an amputation.”

People suffering from PAD are also in extreme pain and discomfort. “So many patients get to the point where the pain is so excruciating that they can’t imagine that anything, any procedure, could take away that pain except for just simply cutting it off,” says McNicholas.

Cutting off your limb isn’t always the only option. There are many treatment options available, including lifestyle changes, medical management, minimally invasive procedures and arterial bypass surgery. In addition to getting a second opinion, leverage the services offered by The Way to My Heart, talk to friends, family members and even Facebook groups or chatrooms to gain insight into other PAD patients’ experiences before making a potentially life-changing decision.

For More Information

You must be your biggest advocate as a patient to find the best doctor for you. Watch the full video to learn more about getting a second opinion before moving forward with an amputation. You can also learn more about PAD and find a PAD specialist near you by using CSI’s Find a Doctor tool.