By Jim Stocker, as told to Danny Bonvissuto When I started smoking in high school, it was cool. Attractive women in grocery stores handed out little packs of four cigarettes, trying to get you to change your brand. When I was in the military, my C-rations had cigarettes in them and the thought was, “Smoke … Read more
Can you walk more? That may be the last question that you want to hear when you have a blood vessel condition called peripheral arterial disease, or PAD. Even walking short distances, as you likely know, may cause your legs to cramp up. But doctors say that if you push yourself to move more often … Read more
Long walks around his hilly Pittsburgh neighborhood turned scary for Jagdish Bhatnagar when his left calf started hurting so badly, he had to rest on the side of the road. Diagnosed in early 2021 with peripheral artery disease (PAD), the 83-year-old retired medical physicist knew blocked blood vessels in his leg were causing his severe … Read more
Rodney McKinley found out he had peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in 2011, when his frequent walks dissolved into searing pain. “When I would lay down in bed to sleep, it felt like someone had a blowtorch under my toes,” he says. McKinley had bypass surgery in his groin — with 32 staples — and two … Read more