Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history, and perform a physical exam. Tests may include the following:

    Muscle atrophy.
    Checking the strength of the pulse in the leg arteries.
    Listening for a whooshing sound in a leg artery or the abdomen using a stethoscope.
    Ultrasound and doppler analysis of the arteries, especially the carotid arteries in the neck          which supply the brain with blood.
    Checking blood pressure at various points in the leg and comparing it to the normal arm blood   pressure.
    Blood tests for blood lipids, homocysteine, fasting blood sugar, hemoglobin A1C, oxidative stress marker (eg 8-iso-PGF 2 alpha).
    Treadmill test.
    Electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG) a test that records the heart's activity by measuring electrical currents through the heart muscle.
    Angiography of the arteries in the legs (x-rays of blood vessels that have been injected with a dye).
    MRI a test that uses magnetic waves to make pictures of the blood vessels .
Last Update
7/3/2011 11:49:12 AM