Patient Education
How is Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.) Diagnosed?
If you think you have Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.), see your health care provider and talk about any symptoms you are having. Your provider may go over your medical history and conduct examinations to determine if you have P.A.D.REVIEW OF MEDICAL HISTORY
The first step in determining whether a person has P.A.D. is to take a thorough medical history.
PERFORM MEDICAL EXAMINATION
Your physician may do a series of tests to assess symptoms of P.A.D.
ANKLE-BRACHIAL INDEX (ABI)
The ABI is a test that involves taking the blood pressure at several locations in the body and doing a simple calculation.
EXERCISE TESTING
The ABI can be supplemented with an exercise test.
PULSE VOLUME RECORDING and SEGMENTAL PRESSURES
These two additional non-invasive tests may be done to determine where an artery is occluded.
ULTRASOUND DUPLEX SCANS
This is another non-invasive method. It can provide clinicians with information about the thickness of artery walls, blood vessel structure, blood flow velocity and blood flow turbulence.
MRI SCANS & CT SCANS
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) scans may be performed prior to surgical interventions in some persons.