Don't Ignore Those Mysterious Leg Cramps

If you've been experiencing pain or cramping in your calves, feet or buttocks that disappears when you stop walking; your feet often feel cold or numb; or you've been seeing unusual hair loss on your legs or the tops of your feet, take notice. You could have peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the legs.

PAD occurs when hard deposits, or plaques, form in the legs' arteries. Over time, these blood vessels harden and narrow (a condition known as atherosclerosis), impeding blood flow. If left untreated, the lack of blood supply to the legs and feet can cause the tissue to deteriorate, gradually progressing to gangrene and limb loss.

Risk factors for PAD include smoking, which damages the arteries, obesity and diabetes. People with diabetes often have reduced sensation in their legs and feet, causing them to miss the early signs of PAD, including wounds on the feet that won't heal. That's why it's important for people with diabetes to have regular foot exams to catch PAD in its most treatable stages.

PAD is diagnosed with the anklebrachial index (ABI), a simple test that measures the blood pressure in the legs. If a low ABI indicates reduced blood flow, imaging studies such as an MRI or CT scan can help pinpoint the blockage.

Limb-Saving and Lifesaving Procedures
At Manatee Memorial Hospital, interventional cardiologists perform a variety of procedures to widen the arteries in the legs and restore blood flow. The most common is balloon angioplasty, which involves threading a tiny balloon into the artery to widen it. Another procedure called laser atherectomy uses a laser-tipped catheter to vaporize the plaque. In either procedure, a mesh tube, or stent, can be placed inside the vessel to hold it open.

Abdul Sheikh, M.D.

These procedures are performed in Manatee Memorial's Cardiac Catheterization Suite, which is equipped with advanced scanners that provide real-time images of the blood vessels throughout the procedure. Patients can often go home on the day of their procedure and return to normal activities almost immediately.

For more advanced cases, Manatee Memorial surgeons can perform bypass procedures, which involve reconstructing the blood pathway with another blood vessel from the patient's body or with prosthetic tubing.

"People with PAD are often vulnerable to having heart attacks and strokes because they might be predisposed to having blockages in vessels leading to the heart and brain," notes Abdul Sheikh, M.D., an interventional cardiologist at Manatee Memorial. "If we can treat PAD early, we can also put patients on cholesterol-lowering or bloodthinning medications or suggest lifestyle changes that decrease the risk for blockages elsewhere in the body that can have even more dangerous consequences."

To make an appointment with Dr. Sheikh, please call 941-748-2277.

206 Second Street East, Bradenton, FL 34208 941-746-5111 FAX: 941-745-6862