Article Medically Reviewed By:
Henna Kalsi, MD
Senior Associate Consultant Instructor Mayo Medical school The Mayo Clinic, Department of Cardiovascular Diseases Rochester, MN
Overview
What Is It?
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a disease of the arteries beyond the heart. It most commonly affects the blood supply to the legs and results from clogged arteries.
When you were younger, as you began to exercise you would pick up speed and distance and your legs would carry you to your destination, without difficulty or challenge. Your breathing would quicken, your heart rate increase, and the lungs and heart would work together so that increased blood would circulate to the arteries and muscles of your legs. You would walk or run effortlessly, your dreams accomplished.
In some people, however, atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, restricts this blood flow. When your muscles don't get the oxygen and nutrients they need during exercise such as walking, you may experience a cramping discomfort, squeezing or tightness in the calf called claudication . It is sometimes called intermittent claudication because the pain stops with rest, and then you could resume walking.
This leg muscle fatigue, discomfort or pain is the primary symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). It most commonly affects the blood supply to the legs and results from clogged arteries. People with PAD could have same disease of the arteries elsewhere in the body, such as the brain, heart or kidneys.
Many people don't experience any leg muscle discomfort or intermittent claudication until the artery is blocked or occluded by 60 percent or more. Thus, during the years or even decades PAD is developing, you may be unaware of what's happening inside the arteries of your body. Even when you start to experience some symptoms, many people just assume these aches and pains in the leg muscles are a natural part of getting old.
However, when arteries are damaged by atherosclerosis in one site (such as the leg arteries), they're likely also damaged in other vital locations (such as the heart or brain). If a blood clot forms in a damaged artery to the heart or brain, it can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
In fact, the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke is significantly higher in those with PAD compared to those without.
While atherosclerosis is by far the most common cause of PAD, other conditions can cause narrowing such as blood clots, injury to your limbs, inflammation of your arteries due to other illnesses, or unusual inherited variations of the anatomy of your leg's ligaments or muscles.
One in 20 people over 50 have PAD. Many people with PAD have mild or no symptoms, and only about 10 percent of people with PAD have typical intermittent claudication. Nevertheless, PAD is very common and affects between 8 million and 12 million Americans.
Only a small percentage of individuals with PAD will ever face a risk of amputation. PAD is, h...
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