USAPANG PUSO SA PUSO: Treat Your Leg Like Your Heart 

LEG PAIN, most especially when its recurring should be a cause for alarm. What many dismiss as simple fatigue or aging may, in fact, be an early sign of a vascular condition known as limb ischemia (LI) and an impending heart attack. LI can also lead not only to amputation but also to stroke, and death if ignored. LI is not simply a circulation problem. There is a fatal link between limb pain and cardiovascular disease.

During the August 26, 2025 Philippine Heart Association (PHA) Usapang Puso sa Puso webinar, Dr. Paolo Joel Nocom, chair of PHA Council on Coronary Artery Disease, explained that “LI is not just a disease of the legsit is a reflection of your overall cardiovascular health.”

Nocom, cardiologist-vascular medicine specialist, who is also the head of Philippine Heart Center Section of Peripheral Artery Disease, Division of Vascular Medicine, added that “kapag may bara sa ugat ng paa, malaki ang posibilidad na may bara rin sa ugat ng puso o utak. Kaya’t ang simpleng pananakit o panlalamig ng binti ay maaaring senyales na nasa panganib ang iyong puso.

The legs have pulses

Bukod sa pulselessness o pagkawala ng pulso, kapag naramdaman mo ang isang sintomas, maaaring hindi iyan arterial disease, pero kung walang pulso ang binti, kumonsulta ka na agad dahil iyan ay emergency, Nocom added. (The absence of pulse in your leg should prod you to seek emergency consult.)

PHA Director III and Advocacy Committee Chair Dr. Iris Garcia reiterated: “Kumonnsulta na kayo agad sa doctor kapag walang puslo ang inyong binti dahil delikado iyan.”

The bad news is treatment for limb ischemia in the Philippines is limited. Treatment requires advanced procedures such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, or catheter-based interventions. In developed countries, these are increasingly common and accessible.

However, in the Philippines, such treatments are expensive and limited to specialized hospitals, according to Nocom. Access to vascular surgeons and interventional cardiologists is also scarce, especially outside Metro Manila.

Sa ating bansa, mahal ang gamutan at limitado ang mga espesyalista. Kapag huli nqa ang pagkonsulta, mas mataas ang tsansang umabot sa putol ng paa o ikamatay ng pasyente, Dr. Nocom said.

“Because treatment is not always within reach, prevention and early detection are critical, Nocom stressed.

Medications such as anticoagulants, antiplatelets and cholesterol-lowering drugs are prescribed.