Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Screening Questions

Peripheral artery disease is a common circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to your limbs.
When you develop peripheral artery disease (PAD), your extremities — usually your legs — don't receive enough blood flow to keep up with demand. This causes symptoms, most notably leg pain when walking (intermittent claudication).
Peripheral artery disease is also likely to be a sign of a more widespread accumulation of fatty deposits in your arteries (atherosclerosis). This condition may be reducing blood flow to your heart and brain, as well as your legs.

We do a common test called an Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) to diagnose PAD. It compares the systolic blood pressure in your ankles with the highest systolic blood pressure in your arms. To get a blood pressure reading, the nurse or technologist uses a regular blood pressure cuff and a special ultrasound device (doppler probe) to evaluate blood pressure and flow.
This is a common test used to diagnose PAD. It compares the blood pressure in your ankle with the blood pressure in your arm. To get a blood pressure reading, your doctor uses a regular blood pressure cuff and a special ultrasound device to evaluate blood pressure and flow. You may walk on a treadmill and have readings taken before and immediately after exercising to capture the severity of the narrowed arteries during walking.

Yes. We take the pressure in the other arm and use that to formulate a ratio. We do this because when a patient has had surgery for breast cancer, usually lymph nodes under the arm are removed as well. Compression of the lymph system of the arm can lead to painful swelling for a long time.

If you’ve had a double mastectomy, we will perform the screening on whichever arm you use to have blood pressure taken. You may want to check with your doctor before your screening to find out which arm is preferable.

No. Images are not required for this screening. It is a quantitative exam and is based on a comparison of the systolic blood pressures in your arms and ankles.  The Ankle-Brachial Index is a very common and effective screening tool for PAD.

Non-compressibility is due to vascular disease of the walls of the vessels. This leads to the participant receiving an abnormal reading. It is most commonly seen in people who have diabetes, although it may also happen in individuals who do not.

Yes. The lower the ratio, the more severe the arterial disease is.