Peripheral Arterial Disease
Its Symptoms and Treatment
Peripheral arterial
disease is a fairly common manifestation of cardiovascular
disease. The arteries in your body transport blood to all of your organs and muscles.
When you have cardiovascular disease, your arteries get
narrower because of the build up of plaque. This restricts the amount of blood that is able to reach
extremities such as your legs. Peripheral arterial disease usually shows up in your legs as pain that strikes
after you have walked for a short distance and then subsides when you rest.
This intermittent pain is called claudication. It happens because your leg
muscles are being worked out when you walk but there is not enough blood flow to keep up with the demand for
oxygen and blood. This causes pain in the legs and once you rest your leg muscles for a bit, the pain goes
away.
The risk factors of peripheral arterial disease are
basically the same as the risk factors for vascular disease in general, such as high blood pressure, high blood
sugar, elevated cholesterol, smoking cigarettes, and other forms of heart disease like previous strokes or heart
attacks. Peripheral arterial disease is also more common in older individuals and may be confused with arthritis or
aches and pains related to aging.
Because peripheral arterial disease is a sign of dangerous vessel disease, you should
see your doctor when you have leg pain that starts when walking and stops at rest. Your doctor can perform tests to
determine if you have narrowing of the arteries in your legs. He can listen to the blood flowing through your
arteries with a special device and check for abnormalities. He might also take a blood pressure reading in your
ankle and compare it to the reading taken from your arm. He can also order advanced dye studies that will show any
areas in your arteries that have narrowing.
When you have a diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease, you can begin treatment
that includes lifestyle changes and medication. First of all, you should stop smoking. Then you should begin an
exercise regimen that includes walking at least four days a week for up to an hour at a time. If pain strikes while
you are walking, stop to rest and then resume walking once the pain goes away. Your doctor may recommend you begin
more intense exercises like stair climbing as well.
In addition to exercise, you should adopt a diet that is good for your cardiovascular
system. This includes eating a lot of vegetables, fruits, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. Limit your intake of
dietary fat and sugar. Keep blood sugar and cholesterol levels within normal limits.
Lifestyle changes may be enough to alleviate your problems with peripheral arterial
disease and claudication. If not, there are medications your doctor can prescribe. In advanced cases, surgery might
be indicated. An angioplasty might be done that widens the artery with a balloon. A stent might be left behind to
hold the artery open. If the narrow part of the artery is long, a bypass might be needed. This is a procedure where
a vein from another part of your body, or an artificial graft, is used to bypass the blocked portion of the
affected artery.
Peripheral arterial disease is bothersome when it causes claudication and since it
can develop into a serious medical problem, it should not be ignored. There are effective treatments available that
will restore normal blood flow and reduce the pain of walking.
Return From Peripheral Arterial Disease To Blood Pressure Monitors
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