It is recommended that all diabetics have their feet checked at least once a year by a podiatrist. Your podiatrist should look for any problems & treat them as required. But they will also undertake what is called a neurovascular assessment. During this assessment your podiatrist will check your blood supply to your feet & your nerve supply.
When checking blood supply our podiatrists at Step Ahead Podiatry will firstly feel for you pulses & then listen to them. If we are not happy with the feeling or the sound then we may do further testing such as taking the blood pressure in your ankle & comparing that to your blood pressure in your arm. We can also take the blood pressure in your big toe to get an indication of the health of your arteries. When we are not happy with the levels we find we will inform your doctor. This type of assessment & care has lead to a number of our clients having surgery to unblock arteries in their legs. This in turn could have quite possibly saved them from having an amputation.
In the last couple of months alone, during annual neurovascular assessments, we have found a number of clients who have developed irregular heartbeats, or arrhythmia’s, which can be very bad. We informed the clients doctor of the irregularity & further investigation has been arranged. One of our clients was referred to a cardiologist & had to have electrotherapy to get his heart back into rhythm. So this just goes to show you that your foot assessment can be very important not just for your feet but for your overall health.