Peripheral Artery Disease Symptoms

Peripheral artery disease is a condition that occurs as a result of leg artery stenosis or occlusion. The disease is mainly caused by "atherosclerosis," also known as vessel stiffness, which occurs due to fat and cholesterol residues accumulated in the inner artery walls.

It is more likely to occur in men than in women. In addition to gender factors, smoking addiction and genetic factors create an impact on the disease incidence. Peripheral artery disease manifests itself with blockage and narrowing after the leg veins get stiff. While arteriosclerosis initially does not show any symptoms, it may manifest itself with walking difficulties and pain in advanced stages. Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlker Kiriş can carry out the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. 

What Causes Peripheral Vascular Occlusion?

Atherosclerosis is likely to be the most important cause of peripheral vascular occlusion due to various factors. But atherosclerosis, an important cause, is only one cause of the disease. Apart from this, there can be many reasons. Other reasons comprise high blood pressure, smoking, cholesterol imbalance, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, and old age. The reasons mentioned above are factors that trigger peripheral vascular occlusion.

Again, the exposure and damage of blood vessels to bacterial microbes can be regarded as the causes of peripheral vascular occlusion. People who have obesity, excess weight, and other reasons mentioned above may need to consult a doctor to control this disease in a short period. Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlker Kiriş helps you in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease in Izmir province.

What are the Symptoms of Peripheral Vascular Disease?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to find a symptom at the initial stage of the disease. These patients can often be diagnosed during a routine physical examination when they consult a doctor for another health problem. When the patient starts to show symptoms, firstly, "intermittent limping," known as "intermittent claudication" in medical terminology, occurs.  Intermittent limping is severe pain in the calf when walking a certain distance, and the patient has to stop due to this pain. The pain decreases or ends by resting, and the pain returns after a while when the patients start walking. Since the patients rest by looking at the showcases caused by calf pain while walking on the street, it is also called "window disease" among the public. This calf pain develops more quickly, especially when walking quick, walking uphill, or climbing stairs. The calf pain mainly derives from the fact that walking increases the leg muscle cells' need for oxygen, but the oxygen-rich arterial blood offered to the cells cannot be increased due to the leg artery stenosis.

As the disease progresses, the patient's walking distance gradually decreases. The patient describes that there is severe pain while walking a shorter distance. At a later stage, the patient expresses that he has pain while resting, for example, and even watching television at home in the evening. These pains are usually more severe when lying on your back at night. There may be coldness, chills, discoloration, and numbness on the feet. In the final stages, wounds in the toes and gangrene may develop. These stages are called the 'critical leg ischemia.' The symptoms of peripheral vascular disease are briefly as follows:

• Weakness in the leg muscles,
• Numbness in the whole leg area,
• Possible color change in the legs and feet,
• Thickening of the toenails,
• Open wound (ulcer) formation in the foot area,
• A gangrenous condition that starts in the leg area and extends to the toes.

The mentioned symptoms may be in other diseases. However, it is critical for people who encounter these symptoms to consult a doctor without wasting time for early diagnosis of the disease.

What Should People with Symptoms Do?

The mentioned symptoms are present in the middle and advanced stages of peripheral vascular occlusion. Therefore, the disease is difficult to diagnose in the first stage. It is critical for patients who encounter these symptoms to consult a doctor without wasting time. Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlker Kiriş offers services through sufficient experience and knowledge about this disease in İzmir province.

Treatment Method

If the patient smokes, he/she should give up smoking first and foremost. As part of the treatment, this is extremely important. Patients who continue to smoke are more likely to lose their legs. The treatment method is designated by the degree of the disease. While medical treatment is applied to minimize pain, vascular occlusion could recover through an invasive (interventional) medical treatment. Some patients might undergo surgical intervention if the doctor deems it appropriate. The patient's recovery with treatment is directly related to the doctor's knowledge, experiences, and skills.