This post was originally published on Word In Black.
It’s a common cardiovascular disease that leads to some 400 amputations performed each day in the United States. It is a serious medical condition, prevalent in the Black community, that can also lead to stroke, heart attacks and, in some cases, death.
Yet a recent survey has found that while millions of Americans have cardiovascular disease or diabetes, very few are aware of peripheral artery disease, and even fewer have ever had a discussion about it with a medical professional.
PAD causes blockage in the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the legs and affects more than 12 million Americans. Leading risk factors for PAD are the common chronic health conditions that disproportionately impact underserved communities.
“These new insights are particularly concerning among those most at risk and come at a time when a staggering 1 in 20 Americans over 50 years of age experience PAD,” said Dr. George D. Dangas, president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions, and a professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
The PAD Pulse Alliance Survey, which came out in February, polled 2,000 Americans to learn about their level of awareness of disease symptoms, risk factors, and overall doctor-patient communications around PAD. The survey included responses from 1,000 Black people and Hispanics, which is important given that both populations are at a higher risk of developing PAD and related complications.
The facts tell the story.
- Nearly 70% of Americans are not familiar with PAD and its risks.
- Nearly all of the survey respondents (91%) would dismiss limb pain pain as just part of getting older. But leg pain when walking that stops with rest is one of the first symptoms of PAD.
- Over half (53%) of respondents would wait more than a week with ongoing leg pain before calling their doctor.
- Nearly eight in 10 Black and Hispanic patients never had a doctor or healthcare provider talk with them about PAD.
- Despite 71% of Black adults having one or more risk factors for PAD or knowing someone with one or more risk factors, 65% report they are at little to no risk at all for developing PAD.
- Three-quarters of Hispanic adults have one or more risk factors for PAD or know someone with one or more risk factors but 70% think they are not at risk for developing PAD.
The survey “confirms what we feared: millions don’t have the tools they need to help start a conversation with their healthcare providers because patients are unaware of their risks and the common signs and symptoms,” Dangas added.
The top three risk factors for PAD are diabetes, high blood pressure, and use of tobacco products — health risks that occur in the Black community at disproportionately high rates compared to whites. Current or former smokers make up 80% of PAD patients. People with diabetes are three to four times more likely to suffer from the disease than the general population and 35% to 55% of people with PAD also have high blood pressure.
Other studies show that higher concentrations of PAD occur in communities that also suffer from high stress and deprivation, which is also common in many underserved Black communities. Exacerbating the issue: little or no access to nutritious food options and areas to exercise also play an important role.
“We believe that exposure to more distressed circumstances and more access-to-care barriers increases your risk of getting the disease and also getting detected later for the disease,” says Dr. Kim G. Smolderen, an associate professor of medicine and psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. “There is a lot of unawareness that is still happening not only in the general public, but also in the medical community that needs to be addressed.”
“The disturbing variations in PAD prevalence, treatments and outcomes underscore another perilous consequence of the health equity gap in managing chronic conditions,” said Foluso Fakorede, MD, CEO of Cardiovascular Solutions of Central Mississippi, co-chair of the Association of Black Cardiologists PAD Initiative. “It’s critical to increase awareness among racial and ethnically marginalized communities and the providers who serve to close the gap.”
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