UAMS to Offer Peripheral Arterial Disease Screening May 6
| April 21, 2016 | A free screening for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) will be held May 6 at the Maumelle Senior Wellness Center at 550 Edgewood Drive in Maumelle by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
The screening is for people older than 55 who have symptoms of PAD, which is a narrowing of the arteries. Symptoms include pain in the calf or thigh/buttock area when walking, pain in the feet at rest when lying flat, or non-healing sores on the toes or feet. Risk factors include smoking, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease or stroke.
Screening also will be provided for patients with symptomatic carotid artery disease, which is narrowing of the arteries in the neck that can result in stroke. Symptoms include weakness or numbness on one side of the body, difficulties speaking or understanding others, or vision change like a “cloak” being drawn over one eye.
To register, call 501-686-6176. Appointments will be from 1-4 p.m. and openings are limited.
During a similar screening last year, Robert Tunaitis discovered he had carotid artery disease. The 61-year-old says he came to the screening because his wife convinced him it would be a good idea.
“They found I had 99 percent blockage and was a stroke waiting to happen,” Tunaitis said. “I’m grateful that I went and I couldn’t be happier with my treatment. The screening was simple.”
The screening, led by Matthew Smeds, M.D., assistant professor of vascular surgery, involves taking blood pressure measurements in the arms and legs to look for blockage in the arteries of the legs. If participants have signs or symptoms of carotid disease, a screening ultrasound will be performed on their neck to identify carotid disease.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###