Are patients with peripheral artery disease at risk for other diseases?

All components of the cardiovascular system are carefully balanced and interdependent. Because of this, when a problem arises in one part of the system, such as the heart, other areas may be affected as well. Often systemic problems are because of “hardening,” or atherosclerosis, of the arteries throughout the body. A person who has peripheral artery disease (PAD) has narrowed arteries in the legs, and is also likely to have narrowed arteries in the heart. Narrowing of heart arteries restricts blood flow and is a cause of angina (chest pain), heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and other serious outcomes. Because of the interrelatedness of cardiovascular diseases, a patient should share history of any of these forms of cardiovascular disease (or a family history of any of these forms of cardiovascular disease) with his or her physician.