Peripheral artery disease disables women faster than men: Study
February 5th, 2011 - 3:00 pm ICT by ANILondon, Feb 5 (ANI): For women with peripheral artery disease (PAD), small calf muscles are a major disadvantage despite being a feminine trait.
Scientists at Northwestern Medicine point to the smaller calf muscles of women as a gender difference that may cause women with PAD to experience problems walking and climbing stairs sooner and faster than men with the disease.
Peripheral artery disease causes blockages in leg arteries, and patients with PAD are at an increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke, said Mary McDermott, professor of medicine and of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
McDermott and a team of researchers observed 380 men and women with PAD for four years, measuring their calf muscle characteristics and leg strength every year.
Oxygen is needed to fuel calf muscles, and blockages in leg arteries prevent oxygen from reaching the calf muscles of people with PAD.
The researchers also tracked whether or not the patients could walk for six minutes without stopping and climb up and down a flight of stairs without assistance every year.
“After four years, women with PAD were more likely to become unable to walk for six minutes continuously and more likely to develop a mobility disability compared to men with the disease,” said McDermott, lead author of the study. “When we took into account that the women had less calf muscle than men at the beginning of the study, that seemed to explain at least some of the gender difference.”
Interestingly, men in this study experienced a greater loss of calf muscle annually than the women. But the men had more lower extremity muscle reserve than the women.
That may have protected men against the more rapid functional decline women experienced.
“We know that supervised treadmill exercise can prevent decline, so it’s especially important for women with PAD to get the diagnosis and engage in walking exercise to try and protect against decline,” McDermott said.
The study was published in the February 2011 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (ANI)
- Novel method treats stroke via television - Dec 22, 2010
- How exercise helps patients with peripheral artery disease - Dec 03, 2009
- Treadmill exercise boosts walking stamina in peripheral arterial disease patients - Jan 14, 2009
- Therapy to prevent heart failure more beneficial for women than men - Feb 08, 2011
- One in six people at risk of stroke, say experts - Oct 29, 2010
- Strokes to be second major cause of death: Experts - Sep 15, 2010
- Healthy lifestyle changes can help treat peripheral arterial disease - Oct 22, 2009
- Twirling a whisker prevents strokes in rats - Jul 14, 2010
- Canadian Celebrity, Dean McDermott, Becomes A Citizen Of The US - Aug 22, 2010
- Tori Spelling names daughter - Oct 13, 2011
- Feds arrest, charge California man with threatening WA Congressman McDermott - Jan 13, 2011
- Age no bar as arthritis strikes India's young (Oct 12 is World Arthritis Day) - Oct 12, 2010
- Legs - vital clues in heart failure - Nov 01, 2011
- Stilettoes 'make your legs more toned' - Feb 02, 2011
- Breast cancer survivors are at higher risk for hip fractures - Feb 03, 2011
Tags: blockages, calf muscle, calf muscles, feinberg school of medicine, flight of stairs, functional decline, gender difference, leg arteries, leg strength, london feb, lower extremity, medicine point, mobility disability, northwestern memorial hospital, northwestern university feinberg school of medicine, peripheral artery disease, peripheral artery disease pad, preventive medicine, school of medicine, treadmill exercise