Symptoms of Peripheral Artery Disease
The first symptom of PAD one tends to experience is pain, cramping or discomfort in your legs or buttocks (intermittent claudication). This happens when you’re active and goes away when you’re resting.
Peripheral artery disease signs and symptoms include:
- a sharp or painful discomfort in your feet or toes that you experience when sleeping, especially if you’re flat on your back
- A change in skin color or your skin may become reddish
- Your feet have cool skin
- More frequently occurring soft tissue infections of the skin (typically in the legs or feet)
- Unhealed wounds on the feet and toes
Peripheral vascular disease affects 50% of patients without any symptoms. Over a lifetime, PAD might deteriorate. Sometimes, symptoms don’t show up until much later in life. Many people don’t experience symptoms until their artery has shrunk by 60% or more.
If you experience PAD symptoms, consult a medical professional so that treatment can begin right away. The earlier you detect PAD the better. Your healthcare provider will be able to begin the right treatments before the disease becomes severe enough to lead to complications like a heart attack or stroke.
Common Cause of Peripheral Artery Disease
Atherosclerosis that develops in the arteries of your legs or, less commonly, your arms causes peripheral arterial disease. Like atherosclerosis in your heart (coronary) arteries, a collection of fatty plaque in your blood vessel walls causes peripheral vascular disease. As plaque builds up, your blood vessels get narrower and narrower, until they’re blocked.