On Saturday morning, December 4, Deborah Heart and Lung Center will host a Peripheral Artery Disease, or PAD, Screening event. The screening event will be held in person, by appointment only, at the Deborah campus.

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) affects approximately 17 million Americans.  The number of PAD patients in our country continues to grow as the population ages and the incidence of obesity and diabetes increases. This common and potentially serious vascular disease occurs when arteries in the legs become clogged with fatty cholesterol deposits, reducing blood flow to the legs. Typical symptoms include leg muscle pain and cramping when walking. However, typical symptoms occur in only about 1/3 of patients with PAD. One third will have atypical symptoms such as heaviness or easy fatigability. Finally, 1/3 of patients, particularly diabetics, will have no symptoms at all. In addition to amputation, patients with PAD are also at much higher risk of heart attack, stroke and death, as opposed to those without PAD. Too often these symptoms are ignored by both patients and physicians, or just attributed to “normal aging”.

The good news is that PAD can be treated with lifestyle changes, medication, and many types of non-surgical procedures. Early diagnosis and proper treatment are key to living well with PAD.

Deborah urges anyone who is at risk to register for this screening event. Risks for developing PAD include:

• Smoking, both present and former smokers
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Abnormal cholesterol levels
• African-American ethnicity
• Previous heart disease, heart attack, stroke or family history

Deborah’s PAD screening event includes a test called the ankle-brachial index, a painless, noninvasive test that compares the blood pressure in the ankles with the blood pressure in the arms, and can indicate if you may have PAD. If appropriate, additional noninvasive testing might be performed.

“PAD is a devastating disease that is often undiagnosed,” says Richard Kovach, MD, Chair, Interventional Cardiology and Medical Director of the Adult Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.  “It is vitally important for those at risk to get screened for PAD.  This screening event increases awareness of PAD and improves our community’s vascular health”.

The PAD event will be held at Deborah Heart and Lung Center, 200 Trenton Road, Browns Mills, NJ 08015 on December 4, 2021, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. For more information, or to register for this screening, please call 609-793-9996.

All screenings are done by appointment, and Deborah is following all New Jersey State Health Department and CDC safety guidelines for hosting this event, including universal mask wearing, social distancing, and screening questionnaires and temperatures on arrival.  Click here for more information about Deborah’s safety protocols.