In order to understand Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), imagine for a moment that you’re outside watering the garden with a garden hose, but the water’s taking its sweet time flowing out of the hose. It’s not doing an efficient job of getting the water to your plants. So you decide to examine the hose on the inside. You find that it’s shrunk – so narrow that the water can hardly get through.

Now imagine that your blood vessels are like the garden hose. You’ve grown a blister on your foot, and your blood vessels are trying to deliver a dose of healing blood to the affected area. But the blood is trickling too slowly; it can’t get through, and your blister won’t heal. Your foot doctor examines you and finds that your arteries are narrow from a buildup of plaque.

PAD Diagnosis using PADnet

Michael L. Rosenberg, DPM, and Heidi M. Christie, DPM, our two expert podiatrists at Montgomery Foot Care Specialists, have a special tool at their disposal to examine your blood vessels. Residents of Montgomery and our tri-county area come to us for evaluation using PADnet, which can detect PAD in its early stages. Simple cuffs are wrapped around your bare knees, legs, and ankles, and inflated – much like the cuffs used to take your blood pressure. Sensors record the volume of blood that is passing through your vessels, helping our doctors to determine the presence, absence, extent, or severity of peripheral artery disease.

Symptoms of PAD

If the flow of blood through the vessels in your lower limbs is compromised by plaque, you will have some or all of these symptoms:

• cold feet
• pain or cramping in your feet or legs while walking
• discoloration of your toes or feet
• a sore that won’t heal.

Diagnosis is vital

If you have symptoms of peripheral artery disease, you are at risk for a heart attack or stroke. It’s extremely important to seek help from Dr. Rosenberg or Dr. Christie, especially if you are diabetic. PAD is a major complication in people with diabetes and without treatment can lead to debilitating infections or even amputation. A PADnet test is simple and non-invasive, so don’t hesitate to contact us at (334) 396-3668. For your convenience, you can request an appointment online 24 hours a day, and a member of our staff will contact you promptly.