Women-PAD Risk

Posted on Feb 21, 2012 in News | 0 comments

AHA: Women at Equal Risk for PAD

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According to a new scientific statement published by the American Heart Association (AHA),[1] women with peripheral artery disease (PAD) are two to three times more likely to have a stroke or heart attack than women without PAD—yet the condition remains often unrecognized and untreated. AHA is recommending that healthcare providers proactively increase awareness of and test women at risk for PAD. The statement also calls for more women-focused research into the disease.

PAD is a serious circulatory disease caused by a buildup of fat and other materials in blood vessels outside of the heart, usually in the legs, feet, and arms. Left untreated, it can increase heart attack and stroke risk, severely limit walking ability, and cause tissue death requiring limb amputation. About 8 million people in the United States have PAD and most available research suggests a nearly equal prevalence among men and women.

Only about 10% of those with PAD experience the warning sign of leg pain typically associated with it, and this pain usually goes away while resting. Many people experience no symptoms at all. As a result, few sufferers receive prompt treatment although PAD care leads to more than 1.1 million medical office visits annually, according to the new statement.

The rate of deaths and the healthcare costs associated with PAD are at least comparable with those of heart disease and stroke. While women suffer an immense burden from PAD, current data demonstrate that most women still remain unaware of their risk.

Unfortunately, there are too few women enrolled in clinical trials to provide a clear understanding of how the disease progresses, or to determine with accuracy the incidence and prevalence of peripheral artery disease in women, the statement authors said. The authors of the study recommend conducting more research studies of PAD specifically among women and pooling results from previous studies to obtain an adequate sample size of females.

Published February 21, 2012

 

Reference

1. Hirsch AT, Allison MA, Gomes AS, et al. A call to action: women and peripheral artery disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association [published online ahead of print February 15, 2012]. Circulation. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0b013e31824c39ba.