Blockage to the coronary arteries feeding the heart, for example, can cause angina or a heart attack. Blockage in arteries feeding the kidneys can cause high blood pressure and heart failure. If arteries leading to the brain become blocked, the result can be a stroke or transient ischemic attack. The most common of these vein diseases is venous insufficiency, which can lead to varicose veins , in which the affected veins become swollen and discolored.
More serious vein diseases can be caused by thrombosis , which is the formation of blood clots. These clots impair proper blood flow, just as atherosclerosis does, but they are in many ways more dangerous because they may not stay where they formed.
With deep vein thrombosis DVT , the clots can break off from where they started and travel to the lungs. This can lead to a pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal. Lymphedema is a condition that blocks the lymph vessels and keeps them from draining fluid from tissues and supplying them with immune cells. Other causes of PVD may include injury to the arms or legs, abnormal muscles or ligaments, or infection.
Those who smoke or have diabetes have the highest risk of complications from PVD because these risk factors also cause poor blood flow. About half of the people diagnosed with PVD do not have symptoms. The most common symptom is lower leg cramps with activity that stop with rest intermittent claudication. It may occur in 1 or both legs. The symptoms of PVD may look like other conditions. Always see your health care provider for a diagnosis. To diagnose PVD, your health care provider will do a complete medical history and physical exam.
Other tests may include:. Find a Doctor Find a Doctor. What causes PVD? What conditions are linked to PVD? The term peripheral vascular disease encompasses several different conditions including: Atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the buildup of plaque inside the artery wall.
Plaque is made up of deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium, and fibrin. The artery wall then becomes thickened and loses its elasticity. Symptoms may develop gradually, and may be few, as the plaque builds up in the artery. However, when a major artery to the heart or brain is blocked, a heart attack or stroke may occur. Buerger disease thromboangiitis obliterans. This is a chronic inflammatory disease in the arteries. It leads to blood clots in the small- and medium-sized arteries of the arms or legs, eventually blocking them.
This disease most commonly occurs in men between ages 20 and 40 who smoke cigarettes. Symptoms include pain in the legs or feet, clammy cool skin, and a diminished sense of heat and cold. Chronic venous insufficiency. This is a prolonged condition in which 1 or more veins don't adequately return blood from the legs back to the heart. It's due to valve damage in the veins.
Symptoms include discoloration of the skin and ankles, swelling of the legs, and feelings of dull, aching pain, heaviness, or cramping in the legs. Venous thromboembolism VTE.
They use the term VTE because the 2 conditions are very closely related. And, because their prevention and treatment are also closely related.
Deep vein thrombosis DVT. DVT is a blood clot in a large vein deep inside a leg, arm, or other part of the body. These blood clots are common in those who have had long periods of inactivity like sitting while traveling or bed rest after surgery. Symptoms may include pain, swelling, and redness in the affected arm or leg.
If you have these symptoms, call your health care provider. Pulmonary embolism PE. PE is a blood clot in the lungs. The most common cause is a part of a clot that breaks off and travels to the lungs. Another treatment, also requiring image guidance, is atherectomy. Angioplasty — A treatment performed when an artery has been blocked by plaque build-up or has collapsed preventing blood from flowing specifically to the heart.
A doctor inserts a catheter into an artery guiding it to one of the coronary arteries. The doctor releases dye into the artery so the blockage can be seen on an x-ray. Then a different catheter, one equipped with a small balloon, replaces the first at the same location.
The doctor then inflates the balloon at the location of the blockage reopening the artery so blood can flow normally. Atherectomy — As an alternative to angioplasty, an atherectomy also involves inserting a catheter into an artery until it reaches the blockage. This catheter is also equipped with a balloon, but the balloon is attached to a tool used to cut away the buildup causing a blockage. When the balloon inflates it puts the cutting tool in contact with the plaque buildup so it can cut away blockage.
Stenting — When angioplasty or atherectomy procedures are performed, usually inserting a stent will be the last step of the procedure. A stent is a mesh tube made of metal. Doctors insert a stent into an artery that has just been widened through angioplasty or atherectomy.
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