If you have leg pain when you walk that improves when you stop, you may think it’s from being out of shape or a part of aging, but it could be due to a serious condition called peripheral arterial disease.

Peripheral arterial disease, or PAD, is a disease of blood vessels in which arteries carrying blood to the arms and legs become narrowed or clogged; blood flow to the limbs becomes slowed or stopped. PAD is a warning sign for stroke and heart attack, because the process involving the arteries in the limbs also affects the arteries to the brain and heart.

The most common symptom of PAD is painful cramping of the legs or hips during walking, which disappears with rest. Other symptoms include numbness or tingling of the legs, burning pain in the feet or toes, a sore on the leg or foot that does not heal, a cold leg or foot, skin color changes or loss of hair on the legs. In extreme cases of untreated PAD, gangrene can develop, which may require amputation of the foot or leg.

Atherosclerosis, or “hardening of the arteries,” is the most common cause of PAD. PAD also may be caused by blood clots that become lodged in the arteries.

PAD affects 5 percent of people over age 50, or 8 million Americans. Approximately 5 million Americans do not have any symptoms of having PAD, and only half of those with symptoms are diagnosed and receive treatment.

Risk factors for PAD include:

• Over the age of 50
• Smoking
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Being overweight
• Inactive lifestyle
• Family history of heart or vascular problems

Treatment includes lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, losing weight and lowering cholesterol. The most important thing to do is to stop smoking. Additional treatment options include:

• Angioplasty – a small balloon on a thin tube called a catheter is inserted and then inflated to open the narrowed artery.
• Stent placement – a tiny metal cylinder called a stent is left in the artery to keep it open.
• Plaque excision atherectomy – removal of the plaque in the artery using a special catheter to shave away the plaque.
• Laser atherectomy – removal of plaque using pulsating beams of ultraviolet light to vaporize the plaque
• Thrombolytic therapy – clot-busting drugs are given to dissolve the blood clot at the site of blockage.

More invasive treatment options include bypass graft surgery, in which a vein or synthetic graft is used to create a detour for blood flow around the blocked artery. 

Eric Cohen, M.D., interventional cardiologist, is the medical director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at FMC and medical director of Peripheral Vascular Intervention at the Heart & Vascular Center of Northern Arizona.

To learn more about PAD and treatment options visit NAHeartCare.com or see your physician. Is there a health topic you’d like to know more about? Please write to Mountain Medicine, c/o FMC Public Relations, 1200 N. Beaver Street, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, or visit FMC’s Web site at FlagstaffMedicalCenter.com.