Background: Peripheral arterial disease is a chronic illness, and patients with peripheral arterial disease should\nreceive advice about lifestyle changes and medical therapies to reduce further atherosclerotic complications.\nPrevious research has indicated that patients with peripheral arterial disease lack information about their disease\nand secondary prevention measures. The aim was to elucidate how patients with peripheral arterial disease\ncommunicate their knowledge about their illness and treatments.\nMethods: During 2009, seven focus group interviews were conducted with twenty-one patients (50ââ?¬â??81 years old)\nwith peripheral arterial disease and were analysed using content analysis.\nResults: When respondents with PAD communicate their knowledge about the illness and its treatments they\nââ?¬Å?Navigate through uncertainty, believes and facts about PAD, displaying an active or passive information-seeking\nbehaviourââ?¬Â. After discharge, they felt a feeling of relief at first, which was later exchanged into uncertainty from their\nrestricted knowledge about the illness and how to behave following re vascularisation. For example, during the\ndiscussions about risk factors, smoking was noted as a major risk factor, that triggered feelings of guilt. Thus, the\nrespondents needed to consult other sources of information to manage their everyday lives.\nConclusions: Following endovascular treatment, the short amount of time spent with peripheral arterial disease\npatients requires innovative guidance in clinical practice to meet individualsââ?¬â?¢ needs regardless of whether the\npatient actively or passively understands and manages their peripheral arterial disease.
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