Peripheral artery disease (also called peripheral arterial disease) is a common condition in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the arms or legs. In peripheral artery disease (PAD), the legs or arms — usually the legs — don't receive enough blood flow to keep up with demand.
Your fingers, hands, arms, legs, feet, and toes are considered your extremities. Your extremities can display tingling or numbness, swelling, and heaviness. Poor circulation can even lead to gangrene of the extremities, which is the death of body tissue, which can potentially lead to amputation in severe cases.
Common Causes
Seniors tend to suffer from poor blood circulation in the legs due to several factors like becoming more sedentary, thickening of the aorta, and decreased sensitivity in baroreceptors. A condition caused by hardened arteries, atherosclerosis is one of the most common causes of poor blood circulation.
Start doing daily stretching, exercises, or yoga to increase blood flow. Do aerobic or cardio exercises to get your blood moving and your heart rate up. Wear compression stockings to encourage the blood to move from your legs back up to your heart. Eat a healthy diet to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
One of the most important of these benefits is an improvement in heart health and circulation. Specifically, vitamin B3 has been shown to reduce inflammation and increase circulation. People who always have cold hands and feet may want to consider a vitamin B supplement to improve blood flow and heart health.
This risk means that one in five people with PAD, if left undiagnosed and untreated, will suffer a heart attack, stroke, or death within five years. Untreated PAD can have other serious consequences, including leg muscle pain, discomfort during exercise, and loss of mobility and independence.
If you have poor circulation, you may experience swelling in your feet, ankles, and legs. Swelling, also called edema, happens when blood pools in one area of the body. You may notice taut, warm skin, heaviness or stiffness in the surrounding joints, and pain.
The narrowing of the arteries causes a decrease in blood flow. Symptoms include leg pain, numbness, cold legs or feet and muscle pain in the thighs, calves or feet.
Peripheral artery bypass is surgery to reroute the blood supply around a blocked artery in one of your legs. Fatty deposits can build up inside the arteries and block them. A graft is used to replace or bypass the blocked part of the artery.
Angioplasty is a procedure to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels that supply blood to your legs. Fatty deposits can build up inside the arteries and block blood flow. A stent is a small, metal mesh tube that keeps the artery open. Angioplasty and stent placement are two ways to open blocked peripheral arteries.
Walking is especially good for you
Several randomized clinical trials have shown that walking can make a real difference for people with peripheral artery disease, says Emile R. Mohler, III, MD, late Director of Vascular Medicine at Penn Medicine.
If you are the one out of 20 Americans over the age of 50 who have PAD (peripheral artery disease), your doctor has probably already told you that if left untreated, your PAD puts you at greater risk of heart attack and stroke.
A vascular doctor is an expert in diagnosing and treating issues that affect your arteries and veins. Although many people don't need surgery for their blood vessel problem, a vascular doctor can perform many kinds of procedures or operations.
The femoral artery is the major blood vessel supplying blood to your legs. It's in your upper thigh, right near your groin. The artery is a common access point for minimally invasive, catheter-based procedures because of its large diameter.
Magnesium plays a role in blood circulation and neurotransmitter function and can help control pain by releasing pain-reducing hormones and constricting blood vessels. Improved digestion.
Vasodilators are medications that open (dilate) blood vessels. They affect the muscles in the walls of the arteries and veins, preventing the muscles from tightening and the walls from narrowing. As a result, blood flows more easily through the vessels. The heart doesn't have to pump as hard, reducing blood pressure.
Leg ulcers
Poor circulation affects the body's ability to heal, which can lead to ulcers in the legs and feet. Ulcers can also develop when blood pools in the veins of the legs, which causes swelling beneath the skin. Learn more about leg ulcers here.
Segmental Doppler pressure testing checks different parts of your legs for narrowed or blocked arteries. This method is similar to ABI testing but uses blood pressure cuffs placed at thigh, calf, and ankle levels.
Through angioplasty, our cardiologists are able to treat patients with blocked or clogged coronary arteries quickly without surgery. During the procedure, a cardiologist threads a balloon-tipped catheter to the site of the narrowed or blocked artery and then inflates the balloon to open the vessel.
A minimally-invasive leg stent surgery can open the blocked arteries to allow the blood to flow more freely down to the feet and toes, restoring healthy blood circulation.
Vascular pain often feels like an uncomfortable heaviness or throbbing sensation. It can also feel like an aching sensation. It usually affects your legs and can be worse with walking or exerting yourself.
Many times people live happily with a blocked artery. But with one blocked artery symptoms are a high chance of reduced life expectancy. Asymptomatic patients live up to 3-5 years.