Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a major cause of limb necrosis leading to amputation. When blood flow in the extremities is reduced or becomes blocked, eventually the tissue dies and become necrotic. In the early stages of PAD, there may be ways you can slow the progression of the disease and avoid limb-threatening complications.
Know The Signs
PAD can be a long-standing problem and remain mostly asymptomatic until there is a drastic reduction in blood flow. When there are symptoms, the limb may be colder or pale compared to the other limb. Over time, abnormalities in nail growth can occur, such as when the nails become thickened and more brittle, especially the toenails. Another major sign of PAD is leg pains that often occur during periods of activity and are alleviated by rest. If you also have chronic medical conditions that increase your risk of vascular disease, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and/or hypertension, you should be especially concerned about any new or worsening symptoms in your extremities.
Make Changes
In addition to working on better control of any underlying chronic diseases, there may be other risk factors that you can reduce. Smoking is considered a risk factor for developing PAD. Additionally, once PAD develops, smoking can further compromise the healing process if you happen to develop ulceration of the skin. Aiming for a heart-healthy diet may have some influence on how fast PAD progresses. Your goal should be to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol, which can further contribute to the buildup of plaque. Talk with your doctor about any advantages of aspirin therapy. Low-dose aspirin may be used in some people with PAD to make the blood flow easier through narrowed vessels. Additionally, when you have PAD, it is easy to infer that you may have underlying problems with other blood vessels that can increase your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Increase Your Activity
Increasing your activity levels can be a challenge if you have leg pain associated with PAD. Slowly building up your exercise tolerance can actually improve PAD because it encourages blood flow through collateral vessels. If the collateral vessels are able to compensate, blockages may be less detrimental or give you more time to have a future blockage opened before irreversible damage occurs. Your ultimate goal should be to walk at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. In the beginning, you may need to alternate short periods of walking with rest until the pain in your legs subsides. Diligently working on your physical activity should mean you are eventually walking longer periods with fewer rest breaks and less pain.
PAD can be a limb-threatening problem that is often asymptomatic until major complications occur. If you can identify PAD in the earlier stages, there are plenty of ways you can reduce your risk of significant damage or loss of your extremities. To learn more, contact your local medical practice.