Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
When the peripheral arteries – the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lower limbs – begin to get clogged up and blow flood is restricted, it is called peripheral arterial disease, or PAD. This is one of the most common vascular conditions among older adults.
PAD most commonly affects the legs. Its tell-tale symptom is leg pain or cramps with physical activity, which is relieved with rest but returns after activity resumes. Both legs are typically affected, although symptoms may feel worse in one leg.
PAD usually occurs due to atherosclerosis – the same process behind heart disease – in which fatty material called plaque builds up and hardens on the inside walls of arteries, obstructing blood flow.
- When a blockage occurs in the arteries in your heart or those that lead to your brain, it can cause a heart attack or stroke.
- When blood flow to your limbs is impacted, you may experience common PAD symptoms. In severe cases, PAD can lead to nonhealing ulcers in the legs, gangrene, and the risk of amputation.
Those with peripheral arterial disease have an increased likelihood of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
Symptoms of PAD
At its earliest stages, there are no noticeable symptoms associated with PAD. When symptoms do begin to appear, the condition is sometimes mistaken for something else, such as peripheral neuropathy (in which leg or foot pain occurs due to nerve damage). In many cases, people with PAD go undiagnosed.
Intermittent claudication is muscle pain in the leg that is triggered by physical activity, even something as simple as walking or climbing stairs, and alleviated by rest.
This is the most common symptom of PAD – and what distinguishes it from other conditions. The reason it occurs is because, when blood flow to the legs is restricted, leg muscles don’t get enough oxygen (delivered with blood) needed to move the body.
The pain of intermittent claudication can feel like muscle fatigue, heaviness, a dull ache, burning sensation, or sudden, sharp muscle spasms (cramps). It can occur in the calves, thighs, buttocks, or hips during movement. The pain goes away with rest and returns with movement. In more severe cases, you may experience pain even at rest, or when in bed at night.
In addition to intermittent claudication, the following signs and symptoms may indicate the presence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD):
- Pain in the legs/feet that disturb your sleep
- Sores that don’t heal properly on your toes, feet, or legs
- Skin color changes in your feet
- One leg is cooler than the other leg
- Poor toenail growth
- Decreased leg hair growth
Risk Factors & Complications
The following factors increase your risk of developing peripheral arterial disease:
- Age
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol levels
- Obesity
- Smoking
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Diet high in saturated fats
In addition to the risk factors mentioned above, researchers have also found that African Americans are at a higher risk for peripheral arterial disease. Studies supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute have revealed that nearly one-third of African Americans will be diagnosed with PAD.
If you have PAD, you are at risk of also developing coronary artery disease – which also increases your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI)
A serious complication of PAD is critical limb ischemia, or CLI. It occurs when the blood flow restriction to the legs is severe enough to cause debilitating pain and nonhealing ulcers in the leg – and may escalate to infection, tissue death (gangrene), and the need for amputation (limb loss) to prevent the spread of infection.
PAD Treatment Options
The good news is that PAD can be treated! So, too, can its most severe complication: critical limb ischemia. In the latter case, there are limb salvage procedures that may help you avoid amputation and save the affected leg.
The vascular experts at Florida Endovascular and Interventional offer a variety of treatments, depending on the severity of your condition, symptoms, and the impact it is having on your life. Your treatment options may include exercise, medication, and/or an outpatient interventional procedure that can help improve blood flow to the legs.
Examples of the types of procedures we perform for PAD arterial blockage include:
During an atherectomy, a catheter (thin tube) is threaded into an artery in the leg and guided to the precise location of the blockage or restricted blood flow within the artery. A special device, delivered to the spot via catheter, is then used to remove the plaque to restore blood flow.
During an angioplasty, a catheter (thin tube) with a tiny, uninflated balloon at its tip is threaded into an artery in the leg and guided to the precise location of the blockage or restricted blood flow within the artery. Once in position, the small balloon inflates, pressing plaque against the artery wall, making the passageway wider so blood flow is restored. Once the vessel is sufficiently reopened, the balloon is deflated and removed.
Stenting involves placing a small, metal mesh tube within an artery, to help keep it open after blood flow has been restored. Stenting often occurs after an angioplasty and is put in place using the same catheter that is used during angioplasty.
Sometimes, in order to access a particularly complicated blockage, we may have thread the catheter in via an artery close to your ankle called the dorsalis pedis artery.
A severely blocked artery may require bypass surgery. In this procedure, a blood vessel graft is surgically attached to the problem artery – at spots above and below a blockage – which allows blood flow to bypass the problem area.
PAD Treatment in Miami Lakes, Plantation & Aventura, FL
Do you experience leg pain while walking or exercising? Does it go away when you rest, but come right back again with movement? You may have peripheral arterial disease (PAD). This common vascular condition may put you at risk of more debilitating symptoms and other life-threatening conditions.
Contact the vascular specialists at Florida Endovascular and Interventional to find out if it’s PAD and what your treatment options are. Call us at (786) 534-2555 or simply request an appointment now. We look forward to seeing you at one of our three convenient South Florida locations in Miami Lakes, Plantation, or Aventura.
