African Americans have a two-fold higher risk of Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a type of “hardening of the arteries” in the legs, than other groups. The risk among African Americans is equivalent to smoking one pack of cigarettes every day over a 20-year period, experts say, making screening for this condition even more important in this population.

“There appears to be a pattern of accelerated atherosclerosis that occurs in African Americans” that is different than what occurs among other populations,” Dr. John Rundback, an interventional radiologist at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey, told Reuters Health.

Yet, African Americans are among the least likely to participate in the annual screenings, according to Rundback, who also serves as director of the hospital’s Interventional Institute and is an associate professor of radiology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

In PAD, plaque builds up in the arteries that supply the legs with blood, which causes them to narrow, leading to atherosclerosis. This can cause a reduced blood flow to the legs and subsequent pain in the calves, legs and buttocks.

During the screening, which is also recommended for other high-risk groups, such as diabetics, current and former smokers and adults over the age of 50, participants undergo the ankle brachial index test, in which the blood pressure in the legs is compared with the blood pressure in the arms to determine the efficiency of blood flow and whether further testing is needed.

“African Americans and other high-risk groups need to get in the habit of getting an annual ankle brachial index test that can diagnose PAD,” Dr. Harvey Wiener said in a Society of Interventional Radiology statement. “People need to know their ankle brachial index number the way they know their cholesterol, blood pressure or blood sugar number - it can save their life,” he added. Wiener is also affiliated with the “Legs for Life” PAD screening program.

Screening is important since most people affected by PAD have no symptoms and do not feel the classic PAD-related leg pain, called intermittent claudication, that occurs during walking or exercising but stops immediately upon the cessation of physical activity.

“It’s not just a matter of getting older,” Rundback said. African Americans who experience such pain should “aggressively seek the attention of an interventional radiologist.”

So far, almost 322,000 individuals have been screened for PAD since the inception of the Legs For Life program. One in four of those who underwent such screenings were found to be at risk of PAD, according to the Society of Interventional Radiology statement.

During September’s Vascular Disease Awareness Month, physicians across the country are offering PAD screening through the Legs For Life program, which is open to all.

Screening is essential because by the time most people notice they have a problem, “they are often facing amputation, kidney damage, or stroke, Wiener said.