Atherosclerosis

• A disease of narrowing and hardening of the arteries due to blood vessel plaque.

• This silent disease progressively worsens the patient’s health by blocking the arteries and making blood flow dangerously sluggish.

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Peripheral Arterial Disease "PAD"

• Plaque may also progress within the blood vessel, eventually restricting the flow.  

• The restricted flow is PAD, which presents a number of patient risks; including leg pain with ambulation or at rest, slow-healing wounds, and potential loss of a limb.

• After time, these blockages will become significant enough to cause pain in the patient’s legs after exercise, pain with moderate exertion, or pain when lying down (rest pain).

• Blockages may also result in stroke-like symptoms which may last minutes, hours, or may never resolve.

• PAD symptoms may also signify higher risk for coronary artery disease and an acute myocardial infarction (MI).

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Life threatening conditions:

      • Stroke

     • Heart attack (MI)

 

Additional conditions include:

     • Claudication (cramping leg pain when walking)

     • Rest Pain (cramping feet at rest, relieved with standing or massage)

     • Gangrene

     • Impotence