When Mike first noticed calf pain while walking on his treadmill while temporarily living in Canada in early 2024, he dismissed it as a pulled muscle. Maybe you’ve done the same thing – written off leg pain as just part of getting older or being out of shape. But that pain led Mike down a path that revealed something much more serious: Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). His story isn’t just about blockages in arteries—it’s about finding your way through diagnosis, treatment, and the emotional challenges that come with PAD.

In our recent “Save My Piggies” segment on “The Heart of Innovation,” I along with my cohost Dr. John Phillips interviewed Mike and his mum on a special Save My Piggies episode of The Heart of Innovation. Their experiences highlight the challenges you might face—and more importantly, how you can overcome them.

“I went on Dr. Google around November last year because the pain wasn’t easing at all,” Mike explained during our conversation. “The first things that were coming up with the leg cramp was PAD.”

This discovery was especially terrifying for Mike because PAD wasn’t just some abstract medical condition—it was the same disease that had cost his mother her leg in 2014. This personal connection turned what might have been concerning information into a deeply frightening possibility.

If you’re reading this and searching for answers about your own symptoms, you’re not alone. I’ve seen this time and again in my reporting – more than 70% of people in the US don’t even know about PAD. Even more troubling, many doctors are brushing off symptoms as back issues, old age, or just part of diabetes. This awareness gap means you might need to be your own advocate—recognizing symptoms and pushing for proper testing.

Navigating the Healthcare System

Once Mike returned to the UK in January, his general practitioner ordered an Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) test, which confirmed suspicions of PAD. The doctor started him on statins, blood pressure medication, and low-dose aspirin—all standard protocol. But then came the waiting game for a specialist consultation.

“In the UK, you have to wait sometimes 12 to 18 months to actually see a vascular surgeon,” I explained to Mike during our conversation. “And that wait time, you’re noticing every nuance. You’re noticing that little extra burning in one foot and tingling in the other.”

This gap between diagnosis and specialist care creates what I call the “PAD limbo”—a period where you know something is seriously wrong but lack expert guidance on what to do about it. For Mike, the fear of ending up like his mother drove him to take action rather than passively waiting. When he noticed his feet turning “multicolored underneath” after shopping, he went to the Accident & Emergency department, which connected him with a vascular hot clinic where an ultrasound revealed a 75% narrowing in his superficial femoral artery.

If you’re experiencing concerning symptoms like color changes in your feet, increasing pain, wounds that won’t heal, or severe temperature changes in your extremities, don’t wait for your scheduled appointment—consider seeking urgent care. I’ve seen too many PAD patients wait until it’s too late.

Finding Real Support

The vascular doctor Mike saw provided basic lifestyle guidance—telling him to quit smoking, start walking, and change his diet. However, this advice lacked the detailed, practical guidance he needed. There was no structured exercise plan, no specific nutritional recommendations, and no clear explanation of how these changes would affect his condition.

With only basic guidance and mounting anxiety, Mike turned back to the internet—where things initially got worse before they got better.

“All you have to go on is Dr. Google that tells you that you’re going to be dead in five years with a PAD diagnosis,” I said during our heart-to-heart. And let me tell you, I’ve heard this same story from countless PAD patients I’ve interviewed.

And that’s exactly what Mike found. Websites with alarming statistics dominated his search results. Without context explaining that these figures primarily apply to the most severe cases with multiple risk factors, Mike—like you might have—assumed the worst about his own prognosis.

This grim outlook deepened his emotional crisis. “I was just lying on the couch every single day, not moving. I was just doing my treadmill and just getting on the couch. And just crying. And just crying and wondering what was going to happen.”

But the internet that first terrified him ultimately became his lifeline when he discovered patient communities. Through the Global PAD Association’s Facebook groups and several other organizations’ online communities, Mike found what his formal healthcare couldn’t provide: comprehensive guidance and real-time support from others walking the same path.

“I’ve had loads of decent advice, especially off these guys that are on the chat,” Mike shared with me. “Alan, Douglas and Marie and Josh… they’ve all been massive, massive help to me over the last few months and they brought me away from my depression sometimes with personal calls.”

Through communities at padsupportgroup.org, walkingsupportgroup.com, and other patient-led groups on Facebook such as PAD/PVD Support and Exercise Regiment for Peripheral Artery Disease, Mike gained diverse perspectives that all reinforced a consistent message: lifestyle modifications aren’t just supplementary—they’re the foundation of effective PAD management.

The Emotional Burden You Might Face

Even with peer support and guidance from online communities, the psychological toll of Mike’s journey continues to affect him daily. This emotional aspect of PAD isn’t unusual—a 2025 study published in BJPsych Open found that 26.8% of PAD patients meet clinical thresholds for anxiety or depression, more than double the rate in the general population over age 65. Another study in the Journal of Vascular Nursing reported that PAD patients score particularly low in quality-of-life measures related to self-concept and feelings.

“When I get up in the morning, I check my pulses. I check my pulses every single morning in my groin, in my ankle, in my feet, just to make sure that it’s still there and I’m not losing any kind of circulation. It’s an OCD thing,” Mike explained to me.

His mother confirmed the severity of his emotional struggle: “Just worried about him, worried about his mental health for a long time because he did sort of hit rock bottom.”

This psychological dimension of PAD often goes unaddressed in conventional care pathways. Yet it significantly impacts your ability to stick with treatment, make lifestyle changes, and ultimately affects your outcomes. As our Global PAD Association’s PAD Warrior Task Force Chairman recently said on my PAD Leg Saver Hotline episode: “How can you get motivated to walk, walk, walk through the pain, when you fear the pain you are walking into? Even more, how do you quit smoking when smoking is what you do to ease stress and anxiety and a diagnosis like PAD increases stress and anxiety. We need support.”

Fortunately, some healthcare providers are beginning to recognize this crucial aspect of care. Dr. Ankur Thapar, Consultant Vascular Surgeon and PAD Researcher, recently shared in my “What’s Up Doc” series: “We understand how important it is to support the emotional and mental part of being diagnosed with a chronic illness like PAD and we try to integrate support into our limb salvage program.”

When Less Intervention Means Better Outcomes

Psychological support is particularly crucial for patients like Mike, whose family history creates an added layer of fear. With proper emotional guidance, you can find the courage to embrace lifestyle changes that often make invasive procedures unnecessary. This mental shift from fear to empowerment can be transformative, allowing you to realize that much can be accomplished through your own actions.

Mike’s apprehension about following his mother’s path is entirely understandable. Yet ironically, her experience offers one of the most powerful lessons about PAD treatment that I’ve seen repeatedly in my reporting: sometimes the most aggressive interventions can lead to the worst outcomes.

Debra’s experience with PAD, beginning with her diagnosis in 2011, reflects an approach that many patients still assume is best—addressing blockages through immediate interventional procedures.

“I had the stents put in,” Debra recounted during our interview. “I had the blockage removed in my artery, had stent put in. Then a year later, had a larger stent. And the year after having a larger stent, then I had the femoral artery bypassed.” Despite these multiple interventions, she ultimately lost her leg below the knee in January 2014.

Dr. Phillips explained why this cascade of procedures often leads to worse outcomes: “As soon as you have one procedure, you’re pretty much guaranteed another one… each time you intervene, you can flick a little debris and it can close one… Now you’ve damaged the arteries past it into the foot. And that’s when people get into trouble.”

This insight has led many leading vascular specialists I’ve interviewed to advocate for a more conservative approach that prioritizes lifestyle modifications over early intervention. When advising Mike, Dr. Phillips’ guidance was clear: “You need to put off any procedure as long as you can.”

This perspective shift is crucial for you to understand: the first response to claudication shouldn’t be to “fix” the blockage but to help your body adapt to it and potentially develop its own natural bypasses through consistent exercise. I’ve seen this work time and again with the PAD patients I follow.

Your Power to Change Your Outcome

So far, Mike’s comprehensive lifestyle changes are proving successful, showing what’s possible when you take control of your PAD journey.

“I’ve changed my diet in a massive way,” Mike told me. “I stay away from any fried food, any pre-made meals… I’ve started eating a lot more vegetables… a lot more salad… a lot of salmon, a lot of white fish… a lot of chicken. I’ve cut back on red meat.”

Combined with his exercise regimen—“an hour and 40 minutes on the treadmill every single morning”—and quitting smoking “cold turkey,” these changes have transformed his health profile. “I’ve had a recent blood test last month, and they’ve come back into range. They’ve practically halved because of everything that I’ve been doing.”

Mike’s mother Debra expressed pride in her son’s response: “I’m super proud of him because he gave up smoking cold turkey… And he needed to do, and he’s done the best thing. He’s stopped smoking, he’s walking, he’s exercising, and he’s eating healthy.”

Dr. Phillips also affirmed Mike’s path during our session: “Based on my experience and what you are doing right now and the fact that it sounds like you can feel your pulses still in your foot, that’s a huge indicator that your blood flow is okay… you’re going to be okay.”

The relief in Mike’s response was palpable: “I appreciate that, doctor. Thank you.”

Imagine how much better your PAD journey could be with this kind of expert guidance from the beginning—rather than piecing together your own care plan through trial and error. That’s exactly why I’m so passionate about connecting PAD patients with resources that can help.

You Don’t Have to Face PAD Alone

Mike’s journey reveals a critical truth I’ve seen repeatedly in my reporting: our current fragmented approach to PAD care places an enormous burden on patients. Despite receiving a diagnosis and basic medical intervention, Mike had to piece together his own comprehensive care plan—finding detailed lifestyle guidance through online communities, battling psychological distress largely on his own, and waiting months for expert reassurance about his prognosis.

You don’t have to navigate these waters alone. If you’re experiencing leg pain, leg cramps, tingling, burning, or what might have been diagnosed as diabetic neuropathy, call the Global PAD Association’s Leg Saver Hotline at 1-833-PAD-HELP (1-833-723-4357). Their experts can help you discuss your symptoms, find a testing site near you, connect with doctors trained in advanced treatment options, and access no-cost lifestyle modification programs that could change your outcome.

For additional resources, visit padhelp.org where you’ll find comprehensive information and support. And for our UK readers, padtrials.org is an excellent resource to learn about new clinical trials for PAD that could provide access to cutting-edge treatments.

Your limbs are worth saving, and your quality of life matters. Don’t let PAD control your future—take the first step today by reaching out for the support you deserve. Remember Mike’s journey—from fear and isolation to empowerment through knowledge and community. You can write a better story for your own PAD journey, starting right now.

I’ve seen too many patients lose limbs unnecessarily. Don’t become another statistic. Call 1-833-PAD-HELP today.

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