Montreal Underdiagnosed, untreated, and potentially deadly! Peripheral artery disease PAD or circulation problems to the limbs puts people at significant risk of death and disability from heart attack and stroke. And yet, most Canadians with PAD dont even know they have this serious condition.

Now, Canadian cardiologists are poised to remedy the situation. At this years Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, cardiovascular experts from across the country will meet to review the latest studies about PAD to determine the most effective ways of diagnosing and managing this stealthy killer.

Right now, PAD is off the radar screen. The results of this years Consensus Conference at the Congress will serve as a guide for the busy physician to ensure that PAD receives the attention it so importantly deserves, says Dr. Beth Abramson, spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and co-chair of the Consensus Conference.

PAD is a very serious problem. It contributes to the death of thousands of Canadians yearly. If you have PAD, your risk of dying from a heart attack or having a stroke is 2 to 6 times greater than that of a person without PAD, says Abramson.

If you have leg pain while walking or you are already at risk for heart disease or stroke, see your doctor!

PAD, or poor limb circulation, occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the legs, arms or neck become narrow and blocked. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, or those who smoke are at especially high risk.

How do you know if you have PAD? Unfortunately, many people with PAD have no symptoms. But if you smoke, or have high blood pressure, or diabetes, the chances are high that you may have PAD, and you should bring up this possibility with your doctor, says Abramson.

The symptom most often felt by people with PAD is leg pain that prevents them from walking very far. Doctors call this pain intermittent claudication. The pain usually goes away with rest. Other PAD symptoms include gangrene, a lack of toenail growth, cold feet, withered calf muscles, and painful ulcers in the toes that typically are black and do not bleed.

Simple steps to diagnose PAD can be done during a routine check up. Listening with a stethoscope to the blood flow in the legs can be helpful, as can feeling for pulses in the feet. Another method is to measure ankle blood pressure with a test called the ankle brachial index (ABI). This is the most accurate way of detecting PAD, and it is also the most practical. It takes about 10 minutes to perform, and it can detect PAD even at its earliest stages.

Treatment includes surgery, drugs, exercise
Traditionally, surgery has been the mainstay of treatment for PAD. Although it is still the cornerstone of treatment, there are now other therapies that can also be used in patients, regardless of whether or not they need surgery. The Consensus Conference will discuss these different treatments, Dr. Abramson said.

Lifestyle changes are also important for the patient with PAD. These include quitting smoking, exercising, and controlling blood pressure, which are similar to the lifestyle changes for patients with coronary disease, she added.

The Consensus Conference will also discuss the evidence for the use of drugs in the management of PAD. These drugs include anti-platelet drugs, cholesterol lowering drugs, and ACE inhibitors a type of medication commonly used to treat high blood pressure but that also protects the blood vessels.

The guide that will emerge from the Conference will be practical and easy for busy physicians to incorporate into their daily practice, predicts Dr. Abramson. Other guides have been established but they tend to be difficult to use in the real world of a busy medical practice. This guide is one of the first concise guides addressing this issue in North America, and internationally.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation (www.heartandstroke.ca) is a leading funder of heart and stroke research in Canada. The Foundations mission is to improve the health of Canadians by preventing and reducing disability and death from heart disease and stroke through research, health promotion and advocacy.

For more information and/or interviews, contact

CCC 2005 media office
514-871-5828
(Oct 23-26, 2005)

or

Amlie Plante
Massy-Forget Public Relations
514-842-2455 ext 24

Congress information and media registration at www.cardiocongress.org

After October 26, 2005, contact:
Jane-Diane Fraser
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
(613) 569-4361 ext 273
jfraser@hsf.ca