Peripheral Artery Disease

Peripheral artery disease is a serious blood circulatory condition that results from the narrowing of the arteries due to the gradual build up of plague or fatty deposits. It is one of the most common peripheral vascular diseases and affects more than 8 million Americans.

As the arteries get blocked and harden, they narrow down and this affects the flow of blood to other parts of the body. As arteries narrow, the heart and other parts of body such as legs do not get the required amount of blood. This disease occurs mostly in the arteries outside of the heart that are called peripheral arteries, thus this condition is called peripheral artery disease.

It’s also called PAD, a disease of the blood vessels.

Causes of Peripheral Artery Disease

The most common factor that leads to this disease is the accumulation of excess cholesterol, calcium and other fatty deposits inside the walls of the arteries known as atherosclerosis.
 
Other causes may include clots in the arteries, unusual anatomy of your ligaments or muscles and injury to foot or some infection. 

Symptoms of Peripheral Artery Disease

• Pain or squeezing in the leg or calf, foot, thigh or buttocks during exercise
• Decreased leg strength
• Poor balance when trying to stand
• Cold and numb feet or toes
• Sores that heal slowly
• A change in color of legs
• Changes in the nails

Most of these symptoms are experienced when you walk or exercise. However, as this disease progresses, these symptoms intensify and can be experienced even when you are lying down.

Arteries Affected By Peripheral Artery Disease

The major arteries that are affected by this disease are:

• Cerebrovascular or brain arteries such as vertebral and carotid arteries
• Renal or kidney arteries
• Lower extremity or leg arteries that diminish ones ability to walk
• Intestinal or mesenteric arteries

Peripheral artery disease can cause major complications in the body leading to kidney failure or problems in digestion. Peripheral artery disease usually affects one or both of the legs. The parts of the body blocked by the blood vessels do not get enough oxygen and nutrients.

Risk Factors

• Individuals more than 70 years of age
• People who smoke a lot
• People with diabetes
• Family history of PAD
• Taking in too much fatty or greasy foods
• Overweight

Treatment of Peripheral Artery Diseases [PAD]

• Healthy lifestyle is the first step to treatment, with improvements in diet and exercise
• Aniplatets are medicines given to treat PAD
• Aspirin is also prescribed as it is a blood thinning medicine and helps in the flow of blood
• Statin lowers the cholesterol level
• Medicines given to control high blood pressure to resume the flow of blood to all parts of the body
• If you have diabetes, you may be given medication to control your diabetes too, in order to treat peripheral artery disease

Surgery
In severe cases, surgery like by-pass, angioplasty and thrombolytic therapy are also carried out to relieve the patient of peripheral artery disease. These surgeries aim to open the blocked arteries to resume the flow of blood.

However, surgery is the last option when medicines and other ways to control the disease fail.

Prevention of PAD is possible with help of diet and medicines. With a healthy lifestyle and eating habits, it can be avoided. However, it can be made better with improvements in lifestyle and diet.  If you want to save yourself from such diseases, you need to eat healthy, engage in physical exercise and stop smoking.