PIP for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) - Can You Claim?

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) restricts blood flow to your legs, causing pain, cramping, and numbness when walking (intermittent claudication). In severe cases, it causes pain at rest, non-healing wounds, and risk of amputation. PAD directly affects the PIP mobility component because it limits how far you can walk.

Which PIP Activities Does PAD Affect?

Moving Around (Activity 12) - This is the primary activity. PAD causes claudication - cramping leg pain that forces you to stop walking. The distance you can walk before pain stops you is your "claudication distance." If this is under 50 metres, you qualify for at least standard mobility. Under 20 metres qualifies for enhanced.

Be specific: "I can walk approximately 30 metres on a flat surface before severe cramping pain in both calves forces me to stop. I must stand still for 2-3 minutes until the pain subsides before I can continue. Even after resting, the pain returns after another 20-30 metres."

Preparing Food (Activity 1) - Standing at a worktop reduces blood flow to your legs, causing pain. If you need to sit down repeatedly while cooking, meals take much longer and some tasks become unsafe.

Washing and Bathing (Activity 4) - Standing in the shower causes leg pain. Foot care is critical with PAD (risk of non-healing wounds), adding extra time to your daily routine.

Managing Therapy (Activity 3) - Medication (statins, blood thinners, cilostazol), vascular clinic appointments, angioplasty follow-ups, wound care if you have ulcers, supervised exercise programmes. Daily foot inspection is essential and counts as therapy.

The Exercise Paradox

Doctors tell you to walk more to improve circulation. Assessors might say "if you can exercise, you can walk." These are different things. A supervised exercise programme where you walk until it hurts, rest, then walk again is medical therapy. Walking to the shops and back is a daily activity. You may be able to do the first under medical supervision but not the second reliably and safely.

Severe PAD - Critical Limb Ischaemia

If your PAD has progressed to critical limb ischaemia (pain at rest, ulcers, gangrene risk), your PIP claim is very strong. Rest pain affects sleep (affecting every activity through fatigue), wound care is intensive therapy, and the risk of amputation means you need supervision for safety. Describe the severity clearly.

What Evidence Helps?

• Vascular consultant letters
• Ankle-brachial index (ABI) results
• Angiography or duplex scan results
• Claudication distance measured by physiotherapist
• Wound clinic records if applicable
• Smoking cessation records (shows engagement with treatment)

Frequently Asked Questions

I had a stent. Does that mean I'm cured?

Not necessarily. Stents can re-block (restenosis), and PAD is a systemic disease affecting arteries throughout the body. If your claudication distance has improved but is still limited, you still qualify. Get your vascular consultant to confirm your current walking distance.

My claudication distance varies. What distance do I use?

Use your WORST typical day, not your best. If you can walk 100 metres on a good day and 20 metres on a bad day, and bad days happen 4 out of 7 days, describe the 20-metre distance as your majority-day experience.