Peripheral Artery Disease - Risk Factors - Risk Factors
You may have a higher risk of lower extremity PAD because of your age, family history and genetic , lifestyle habits, other medical conditions, race, ethnicity, and sex. The risk factors for PAD are mostly the same as those for coronary heart disease and carotid artery disease, which are also caused by atherosclerosis.
Risk factors that you can change to decrease the chances of getting PAD include smoking, unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, high blood triglycerides, high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, and metabolic syndrome.
Age
You can develop PAD at any age, but your risk goes up as you get older. Most people in the United States who have PAD are age 65 or older.
Worldwide, the age group is younger (ages 45 to 49) in countries with lower incomes, compared to high-income countries.
Family history and genetics
A family history of PAD, heart disease, stroke, or blood vessel disease, such as some types of vasculitis, raises your risk for PAD. Researchers are studying genes variations that seem to increase the risk of PAD or could make the disease worse.
Genetic studies have found that certain gene variations are found in different types of atherosclerotic diseases, such as PAD, carotid artery disease, and coronary heart disease. An example is the gene variation that’s found in factor V Leiden disorder that increases the risk of blood clots .
Lifestyle habits
Over time, unhealthy lifestyle habits can lead to plaque buildup in leg arteries and PAD. These risk factors include:
- Smoking or regularly breathing in secondhand smoke. Tobacco smoke damages your blood vessels, raises your blood pressure, and causes unhealthy cholesterol levels. The nicotine in tobacco also makes your blood vessels tighten and reduces blood flow in your legs. Quitting smoking is a very important action to lower your risk of PAD.
- Not getting enough physical activity can worsen other PAD risk factors.
- Stress, which can make your arteries tighten.
- Unhealthy eating patterns, such as eating foods high in saturated fats. Saturated, or “bad,” fats come from animal sources such as butter, cheese, and fatty meats.
Other medical conditions
Medical conditions that raise your risk of developing PAD include:
- Diabetes
- Chronic kidney disease
- Disorders that cause blood clots, such as thrombocytosis or antiphospholipid antibody syndrome
- Fibromuscular dysplasia, which can cause the artery walls to grow too much, narrowing the artery
- High blood pressure
- Metabolic syndrome
- Obesity
- Unhealthy blood cholesterol levels or high blood triglycerides
Women who have had preeclampsia or gestational diabetes during pregnancy have a higher risk of developing PAD later in life.
Race or ethnicity
African Americans have a higher risk of PAD than people of other races or ethnicities. African Americans are also more likely to have complications of PAD, such as problems walking and loss of a limb.
American Indian women have a higher risk of PAD than white or Asian American women do. Hispanics and Latinos and whites have similar risk levels. However, NHLBI research found that rates of lower extremity PAD are higher among Hispanic and Latino adults who have highly sedentary lifestyles, even without any other risk factors.
Sex
Men and women have a similar risk of developing PAD, but PAD affects men and women differently.
Women are more likely than men to have PAD without symptoms. Women also often have more PAD complications, such as problems walking.