PHOENIX (Feb. 4, 2025) – With February being Black History Month and American Heart Month, one Banner Health patient wants to raise awareness around one of the many conditions that impact the health of Black Americans.
Surprise resident Gregg Province never thought much of the tingling sensation in his legs, or of his nightly leg cramps. He experienced those issues for years, but in his words, “I was a typical man, and brushed it off.”
In 2019, an ultrasound discovered the blood flow to his legs wasn’t quite right, but again, didn’t think much of it. Later, in 2022, Gregg developed a sore that would not heal despite his podiatrist’s best attempts to do so. That same year, he sustained an injury to his other foot that also wouldn’t heal and began to change colors. His doctor took one look at his injury, and sent him straight to Banner Boswell Medical Center, where he met Dr. Ankur Shukla.
Dr. Shukla diagnosed Gregg with Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D) – a condition that, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is twice as likely to impact Black Americans compared to their white counterparts.
P.A.D develops when a patient’s arteries become clogged with plaque that limits blood flow to one’s limbs, especially their legs. Patients with P.A.D are at an increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, or even losing a limb, according to NIH.
For Gregg, the latter was his reality. Dr. Shukla says Gregg was at risk of losing a limb due to lack of blood flow, but thankfully, Dr. Shukla was able to perform a bypass that improved blood flow and ultimately saved Gregg’s foot.
The worrisome fact about P.A.D is that it does not always cause symptoms, and if it does, they’re minor, like what Gregg experienced.
NIH data suggests most people brush off any potential symptoms thinking it’s a normal part of aging.
However, Gregg wants others to know that this disease is nothing to joke with. And Dr. Shukla notes that P.A.D is a lifelong disease that takes management.
“Take your health seriously and listen to your body if it feels like something is off,” Gregg says.
Banner Health is one of the largest, secular nonprofit health care systems in the country. In addition to 33 hospitals, Banner also operates an academic medicine division, Banner – University Medicine, and Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, a partnership with one of the world’s leading cancer programs, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Banner’s array of services includes a health insurance division, employed physician groups, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care locations, home care, and hospice services, retail pharmacies, stand-alone imaging centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation, behavioral health services, a research division and a nursing registry. To make health care easier, 100% of Banner-employed doctors are available for virtual visits and patients may also reserve spots at Banner Urgent Care locations and can book appointments online with many Banner-employed doctors. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health also has locations in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com.
For further information contact us at: [email protected]