OEE Stay Active—Keep Your Legs Healthy (NAPSA)—Though, like many Americans, you may never have heard of a condition called claudication, you canstill feel its effect. Claudication is discomfort, pain or a tired feeling in your legs that happens when you walk or exercise and goes away whenyourest. Lifestyle changes that can help manage leg artery disease include exercise. Your arteries carry blood rich in oxygen and nutrients from your heart to your legs. When arteries become narrow or blocked, leg muscles may not receive enough blood and oxygen to support physical activity. This condition is called peripheral arterial disease, or PAD. Lifestyle changes that can help manage leg artery disease include exercising, managing diabetes, lowering high cholesterol, lowering high blood pressure, a diet low in saturated fats and calories, maintaining ideal body weight and not smoking. If you’re diagnosed with claudication, or PAD, you should see a vascular surgeon who can treat you with medication and other noninvasive procedures. To learn more about claudication and locate a vascular surgeon, visit the Society of Vascular Surgery’s Web Site at www.VascularWeb.org.
