What it means
In nursing notes PAD usually means peripheral artery diseasepuh-RIF-er-ul AR-tuh-ree dih-ZEEZNarrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the legs, and sometimes the arms, usually from fatty plaque.Full entry , in which plaque narrows the arteries that carry blood to the limbs, most often the legs. It can mean other things, such as public access defibrillation, and in everyday writing "pad" is also an absorbent pad, so read the sentence around it.
For the nurse
When the meaning is not clear, write the words out in full in your own notes.
Related terms
peripheral artery disease
Narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the legs, and sometimes the arms, usually from fatty plaque.