Peripheral Arterial Disease of the Legs
Exams and Tests
If your doctor thinks that you may have peripheral arterial disease (PAD), he or she will examine you for any physical signs of the disease and will ask about your personal and family medical history. In addition, you should discuss any symptoms you have noticed.
As part of the physical exam, your doctor will feel for absent or weak pulses at your groin, behind your knee, on the inner ankle, and on the top of your foot. He or she may also look at the color of your foot when it is elevated and after you exercise. See a picture of peripheral arterial disease of the legs
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If these first tests suggest that you have PAD, you may have an ankle-brachial index test to confirm the diagnosis and to help determine how severely your arteries are narrowed. This test compares the blood pressure at your ankle and your arm, both at rest and after light exercise, to determine whether the blood flow is reduced. Some doctors measure blood flow through the arteries with a Doppler ultrasound exam. Both are simple tests.
Other tests may be helpful. Doctors sometimes use magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA). Computerized tomography (CT) angiography is also widely used to help diagnose PAD. These advanced, computer-enhanced tests may be more accurate than standard angiograms.
Images from these tests can help identify areas that may be blocked or narrowed by atherosclerosis. This may be helpful if you are considering surgery.
Other tests that may help your doctor include:
- Cholesterol testing. If you have high cholesterol, you may have atherosclerosis, which causes PAD.
- Blood pressure checks. High blood pressure increases the chance that you will develop atherosclerosis and have a heart attack or stroke. For more information, see the topic High Blood Pressure (Hypertension).
- Homocysteine level testing. An elevated level of homocysteine may increase your chance of having PAD.
- A blood glucose test. If your blood sugar is high, you may have diabetes, which also increases your chance of having PAD.
If you have PAD, your doctor may also do tests to see whether you have any narrowing in the arteries that supply blood to your heart and brain. When you have PAD, you also have a higher risk for coronary artery disease, heart attack, or stroke. For more information on testing for these conditions, see the topics Coronary Artery Disease, Heart Attack, Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), and Stroke.
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| Author: | Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: October 30, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine David A. Szalay, MD - Vascular Surgery | |
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