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++++++++++++++++++++ + + ++++++++++++++++++++ THAT’S NEWS +++ +++ Heart Health Indicated in Legs A CONDITION THAT increases risk of heart attack and stroke, peripheral arterial disease (PAD) goes undiagnosed in nearly 50% of patients living with it. The Vascular Disease Foundation and P.A.D. Coalition are urging Americans to pay attention to the warning signs of the disease, looking to the legs as indicators of heart health. Because PAD is characterized by the constriction of arteries and decreased blood fl ow, patients age 50 and older should pay close attention to abnormal sensations in the legs. PAD symptoms can include slow or poor healing wounds on the legs or feet; poor hair and/or nail growth on the legs or feet; and intermittent claudica- tion — a set of symptoms that generally occur in times of activity, such as walking or climbing stairs, and subside during periods of rest. Some of these symptoms are fatigue, cramping or numbness of the leg muscles and pain in the feet or toes that can disrupt sleep. National medical guidelines suggest physicians screen for PAD in patients age 50 or older who have diabetes or a history of smoking, as well as people who experience symptoms of PAD and persons older than age 70. Anthropology of THE DIAGNOSIS AND subsequent treatment of asthma is relative to behav- ioral and cultural contexts, according to David Van Sickle, medical anthropologist and asthma epidemiologist of Reciprocal Labs in Madison, WI. Citing a study he conducted in India — in which he showed doctors video footage of people with typical asthma symptoms — Van Sickle notes that in some cultures, physicians are hesitant to diagnose patients with asthma because of social stigma. “A diagnosis of chronic disease can impair a woman’s marital chances, and a physician is unlikely to make an unpopular diag- nosis because a patient can always go down the street and get a diff erent physician,” Van Sickle says of the study performed in India. After performing the same experiment in Wisconsin, he found that doctors were considerably more likely to associate the symptoms with asthma. Van Sickle suggests that the additional study of lifestyle factors should reveal a better understanding of potential causes of the disease and help physicians treat and eventually prevent asthma. Asthma 20 | Eastern Pennsylvania/NW New Jersey MD NEWS MDNEWS.COM