A new study in Science Direct, shows a disturbing trend in a younger demographic of patients with an advanced stage of Peripheral Artery Disease, or poor circulation in their legs. It’s known as Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI). The study shows an increase in CLI patients age 18 to 40 from 2016 – 2020. One reason is an increase in adolescent diabetes T2. Another reason is doctors telling patients they’re too young to have poor circulation. It’s typically an ‘old person’s disease’. So, younger patients who experience leg pain and leg cramps are brushed off in early stages, leaving their disease to advance to a point where they’re a toe stub away from amputation with their arteries blocked extensively, restricting blood flow to their feet. The key is to educate primary care doctors and podiatrists about PAD and arm them with the ability to test for it so that patients can get diagnosed sooner when conservative treatment, which consists of medication, insulin control, and lifestyle modifications, is enough to stall disease progression. That’s why the Global PAD Association is partnering with PAD test maker Biomedix, to help patients find a primary care doctor or podiatrist who have additional experience with PAD and offer a test in their clinic. Biomedix CEO John Romans talks about the partnership which includes the launch of PADtest.org where patients can search for a doctor with their PADnet test in office in case it’s medically appropriate to conduct additional vascular assessment upon presentation of PAD symptoms, which may include neuropathy, leg cramps, leg pain, heaviness, or weakness. 

Dr. Michael Dansinger is leading our discussion during this episode about how to fix the Diabetes epidemic that the American Diabetes Association says impacts one in every two U.S. adults. He talks to hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips about his new Diabetes Reversal Program that's launched in Massachusettes, which he hopes to scale across America. One of his patients will join the discussion to talk about how the program has helped her and where she still struggles to remain compliant. Dr. Dansinger is a renowned expert in wellness, working with hit cable TV show, 'The Biggest Loser," as Medical Director for the Lifestyle Program at Boston Heart Diagnostics, author of the Tufts University Popular Diet Trial, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January of 2005, and having served as an expert with Medscape and WebMD since 2005.