Peripheral arterial disease Ireland - Info

The most common cause of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is atherosclerosis. In atherosclerosis, fatty deposits (plaques) build up in your artery walls and reduce blood flow. PAD mimics a condition similar to coronary artery disease and carotid artery disease where fatty deposits build up in the inner linings of the artery walls. These blockages restrict blood circulation, mainly in arteries leading to the kidneys, stomach, arms, legs, and feet. You may want to check out peripheral arterial disease ireland for more.

Robert S. Schwartz, MD states: “Atherosclerosis and PAD is pretty much the same thing. Atherosclerosis is the hardening of the arteries. It’s the plaque that builds up; it’s the calcium, the fats, the fibrous tissue, the scarring that grows into the arteries and stops the blood from flowing into the legs.”

In the UK, about 2.7 million people age 55 or older, have some degree of peripheral arterial disease and almost 8-12 million people in the United States who have this disease are unaware of having this condition.

PAD is often silent for a very long time before you will notice any symptoms. Some Symptoms of PAD may include:

1. Foot pain that does not go away when you stop exercising

2. Cold and numb feet or toes

3. Leg numbness or weakness

4. A change in the color of your legs

5. Decreased leg strength, function, and poor balance

6. Experiencing discomfort within the muscles of the calves or the thighs, or the buttocks may be indicative of claudication. (PAD leg pain occurs in the muscles, not the joints.)

7. Hair loss on your feet and legs

8. Changes in your nails

9. Foot pain at rest, which indicates that PAD is getting worse

10. Foot or toe wounds that will not heal or heal very slowly

11. Erectile dysfunction

12. Gangrene

Symptoms of peripheral vascular disease depend on what artery is affected and how severely the blood flow is reduced.

One of the serious sub effects of peripheral vascular disease is Buerger’s disease (thromboangiitis obliterans). It is characterized by a combination of inflammation and clots in the arteries and veins that obstruct blood flow. Brandon Carmichael [http://www.smokinggotme.com/my_story.html] is a young man who has suffered this disease to an extreme, having had his left leg amputated below the knee from smoking.