Diabetes and PAD: What's the Connection? (pegged to National Diabetes Month)

Your vascular system is only as healthy as the blood flowing through it. That’s why Drs. John Yoo and Benjamin Wilson at Vascular & Interventional Specialists in Fort Worth, Texas, are deeply concerned with diabetes and its potential impact on your blood vessels. 

This National Diabetes Awareness Month, we’re exploring the connection between sugar-saturated blood and its effect on vascular health. 

Laying the foundation

Before discussing how peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and diabetes are linked, let’s review the basics of each condition. 

PAD is a cardiovascular condition when a sticky plaque of cholesterol and fats accumulates on artery walls. Peripheral plaque buildup forms in blood vessels outside your heart or brain, particularly in your arms and legs, but it can also develop in your hands, feet, neck, and stomach. 

As plaque collects along the walls of your arteries, the vessel narrows, slowing or stopping blood flow. This issue often results in pain in the affected area and increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. 

Diabetes is a condition that affects how the body processes and uses the sugar in the blood. If the cells don't absorb blood sugar, the blood becomes saturated, which can lead to heart and blood vessel damage (cardiovascular disease) over time. 

How PAD and diabetes affect each other

PAD increases your risk for diabetes and vice versa. Around 20-30% of people with diagnosed PAD also have diabetes. The symptoms of either disease can raise your risk for the other. Here’s a closer look. 

Inflammation

Inflammation is a common symptom of both PAD and diabetes. Chronic inflammation causes a spike in specific proteins that exacerbate or bring on either disease. 

Cellular changes

Diabetes damages the lining around the cells in your blood vessels, making them less flexible and more susceptible to PAD. 

Blood clotting

When you have diabetes, the platelets in your blood clump together easily and speed up the PAD timeline. 

Insulin resistance

Your body doesn’t respond the right way to insulin when you have diabetes. Insulin resistance creates an imbalance of chemicals and other substances in and out of your blood vessel cells, increasing your risk for PAD.

Your next steps

Because PAD and diabetes are major risk factors for life-treating problems like stroke and heart attack, we take both conditions very seriously. The primary goal of your treatment plan is to reduce your risk and establish healthy habits. Your treatment plan may include the following:

• Smoking cessation
• Blood sugar management
• Dietary changes to limit cholesterol and fats
• Supervised exercise programs
• Medications

We may recommend procedures, such as angioplasty to open up your blood vessels or atherectomy to remove built-up plaque if these conservative methods aren’t enough or your condition is advanced. Neither technique cures PAD, so we still recommend adhering to a healthy lifestyle to minimize risk and slow disease progression. 

Don’t let your health status become a question mark. Our experts are standing by to walk you through your treatment options for PAD and help you implement the healthy lifestyles necessary for managing your blood sugar and supporting your vascular health. 

Call our friendly staff at 817-321-0951 or use our online booking tool to schedule a consultation with one of our experts and get more answers to your questions.