Course Description:

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a disease resulting from the atherosclerotic process that similarly occurs in coronary arteries, causing myocardial infarctions (MI), and in carotid arteries, causing cerebrovascular accidents (strokes). Individuals with PAD are four to five times more likely to have other vascular issues such as an MI or stroke but are less understood for their risk of vascular disease and more known for their symptoms of claudication (pain on exertion in the legs that goes away with resting). With exercise-based physical therapy intervention, individuals with PAD and claudication pain have demonstrated improvement in walking distance and speed with fewer symptoms. However, these patients are less likely to be seen by physical therapy on an outpatient basis as their limitation is vascular and not orthopedic. Some of these patients eventually go on to be seen in cardiac rehabilitation. Patients limited in their walking due to claudication pain are a population that would benefit from physical therapy. Therefore, this webinar has been developed to help PTs learn about PAD, including the etiology, pathology, pathophysiology, symptoms, indications for exercise testing, and specifically, interventions that will improve their patients’ ability to walk without claudication pain.