The American Diabetes Association endorses the statement that:
A Diagnosis of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is Important for People with Diabetes
The Vascular Disease Foundation added its own endorsement to the recommendations for treating PAD in the individual with diabetes. A consensus statement was published with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in the December 2003 issue of Diabetes Care. Currently, there are no specific guidelines for care for physicians treating the patient with both diseases.
PAD is a serious, vascular complication in people with diabetes that often goes undetected and under-treated. PAD has few symptoms, and affects one of three with diabetes over age 50, increasing the potential for disability and amputation. There is also a higher risk of heart attack and stroke associated with PAD combined with diabetes, than with PAD alone.
This published statement is a result of a Consensus Development Conference organized by the ADA last spring. They identified several differences in how PAD affects the arteries of people with diabetes compared to those with PAD only. Vascular Disease Foundation Director, Dr. Judy Regensteiner, was a member of the Panel that developed this Consensus Statement. To see the entire report, click this link to the report.
Or, call the ADA at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).
Key recommendations from the ADA Consensus Panel were:
· People over the age of 50 who have diabetes should be screened for PAD. People with diabetes who are younger than 50 should be considered for screening if they have other risk factors for this condition, including smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or having diabetes for more than 10 years.
· The recommended test for PAD is the ankle brachial index (ABI). If results are normal, it should be repeated every 5 years.
Treatment strategies for someone with both PAD and diabetes should include aggressive management of cardiovascular risk factors and treatment of PAD symptoms:
- Stop Smoking and avoid all tobacco products
- Antiplatelet therapy
- Blood glucose (A1C, a test of average blood glucose over three months, less than 7%),
- Blood pressure (below 130/80 mmHg)
- LDL cholesterol (below 100 mg/dl)
- Treatment for PAD symptoms includes exercise rehabilitation, medicines and, in some cases, surgical procedures.
- Preventive Foot Care (including appropriate foot wear, ulcer care, and treatment of infection)
This article courtesy of http://www.diabetes-lancets.com/.
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