If you only get one health screening this season, get the one that a leading consumer ratings publication says can prevent heart attack and stroke, and it may be a heart screening test you may not think about.

This test is for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), a condition in which arteries in the legs become clogged by a fatty plaque buildup.  A piece of the plaque can break off and travel through the body to the heart or brain, causing a heart attack or stroke.  The blockage could also stop blood flow to the leg, leading to tissue damage and possible amputation.

A simple test called the Ankle-Brachial Index that measures the pressure in your arms and compares it to those in your ankle can help determine if you have PAD.  PAD does not always cause symptoms, which is why screening is so important. Sometimes individuals experience "claudication," which is pain or cramping in the legs upon exercise that ceases when the activity stops. Many people ignore these pains thinking they are normal occurrences caused by exercise or age.

Peripheral Arterial Disease is especially important for diabetics.  An estimated one out of every three people who have diabetes and who are over 50 have PAD. The American Diabetes Association recommends PAD screening for every diabetic age 50 and older.

Life Line Screening offers this important heart screening test as well as others that check for blockages in the carotid arteries, an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, and an enlargement of the abdominal aorta, the largest artery of the body.  Life Line Screening also offers other health screenings, including an ultrasound of the heel to check for bone density loss and finger-stick blood tests to test for cholesterol and glucose.

Learn more about PAD

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