September is Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) Awareness Month

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), a condition that develops when the arteries that supply blood to the internal organs, arms and legs, become completely or partially blocked as a result of atherosclerosis, affects between eight and 12 million people in the U.S. PAD makes it difficult for wounds to heal.

In recognition of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) Awareness Month in September, experts at the Holy Cross Health Wound Healing and Hyperbarics Program, which treats patients with chronic wounds with underlying conditions of the disease and performs non-invasive tests for PAD, offers the following risk factors and symptoms of PAD:

• Those who smoke or have a history of smoking have up to four times greater risk.
• One in every three diabetics over the age of 50 is likely to have the disease.
• Those with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol or a personal history of vascular disease, heart attack, or stroke are at greater risk.
• Aging increases the risk since the disease develops gradually.
• While some dismiss it as a sign of aging, nearly everyone with PAD is unable to walk as fast or as far as they could before.
• A typical sign is fatigue or a heaviness in the limbs or cramping in the thigh or calf after walking or climbing stairs and then feeling better after resting.
• Leg or foot pain may cause trouble sleeping for those with PAD.
• The skin of the feet may change color and become pale or turn blue.
• Toenails that do not grow as well as before and decreased hair growth on the toes and legs may be another symptom.

“We also counsel our patients on how to manage the illness which can, if left untreated, lead to lower limb amputation and potentially death,” said Dr. William Ward Jr., physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Holy Cross. “Though the symptoms may be serious, 40 percent of people with PAD do not experience any symptoms. Advanced PAD results in delayed wound healing and greater risk for limb loss. Timely detection and treatment of any wound can reduce risk of amputation and improve quality of life.”

The Holy Cross Wound Healing and Hyperbarics Program offers patients advanced wound care treatment, technology and research. That means patients heal faster than those who receive only generalized wound care.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact the Holy Cross Wound Healing and Hyperbarics Program at 954-202-4877.

ABOUT HOLY CROSS HEALTH

A member of Trinity Health, Fort Lauderdale-based Holy Cross Hospital, dba Holy Cross Health, is a full-service, non-profit, Catholic, teaching hospital operating in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy. Holy Cross has been named one of the top five hospitals in the Miami metro area and among the top 20 in the state in U.S. News and World Report's 2019-2020 Best Hospital rankings. Through strategic collaborations and a commitment to being a person-centered, transforming, healing presence, the 557-bed hospital offers progressive inpatient, outpatient and community outreach services and clinical research trials to serve as our community’s trusted health partner for life. Holy Cross Health also encompasses Holy Cross HealthPlex outpatient facility, urgent care centers and more than 50 Holy Cross Medical Group physician practices. To learn more about Holy Cross Health, visit holy-cross.com. Connect @holycrossfl.

ABOUT HEALOGICS
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Healogics is the nation’s wound healing expert. Last year over 300,000 patients received advanced wound care through a nationwide network of over 600 Wound Care Centers®. The Healogics team is made up of almost 3,000 employees, 4,000 affiliated physicians and a Healogics Specialty Physician practice group of nearly 300. In addition to the company’s network of outpatient Centers, Healogics partners with over 300 skilled nursing facilities to care for patients with chronic wounds and provides inpatient consults at more than 80 partner hospitals. As the industry leader, Healogics has the largest repository of chronic wound-specific patient data in the country. The Healogics Wound Science Initiative, an effort launched in 2017 to provide peer-reviewed research, recognizes the value and relevance of big data and advanced analytics to drive continuous, collaborative learning towards a better understanding of how to efficiently utilize healthcare resources for patients with wounds. For additional information, please visit Healogics.com.