Smokers Must Be Warned of Amputation Risk

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Smokers Must Warned of Amputation Risk


Experts at the British Heart Foundation say more than a million people in the UK could be living with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and that 9 out of 10 people with the condition are known to be smokers or ex-smokers.
The warning comes in the lead up to No Smoking Day, which health campaigners say represents an important opportunity to quit smoking.
Restricted Blood Supply
PAD – which is also called peripheral vascular disease (PVD) – occurs when deposits of fat build up in arteries and restricts blood supply to the legs. This process is called atherosclerosis, which can also lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Around half of all people with PAD experience no symptoms, making the condition a largely unknown killer.
Left untreated, PAD can cause tissues in the leg to die, causing conditions like gangrene and critical limb ischaemia (CLI) where blood flow to the limbs is severely restricted. These complications result in amputations in around 3 out of 10 cases.
SOURCES:
British Heart Foundation (BHF). Peripheral vascular disease’ WebMD Health Reference.
‘Most e-cigarette use ‘to help smokers quit”, WebMD UK Health News, 18th Feb 2016.
Reviewed on February 24, 2016

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