Learn about Peripheral arterial disease symptoms from Consumer Reports Health.

Peripheral arterial disease

What are the symptoms of peripheral arterial disease?

In the early stages of your peripheral arterial disease, you may not know there is anything wrong. But as your disease gets worse, you'll probably get some discomfort and pain in your legs.

If you have peripheral arterial disease you may get some of these symptoms:

An aching or cramping pain in your calf, thigh, foot or buttock when you exercise (doctors call this intermittent claudication)
Pain in your calf, thigh, foot or buttock even when you're sitting (this usually happens in people with very bad peripheral arterial disease who also get numbness and tingling)
Cuts, bruises or ulcers on the skin of your legs or your feet that don't heal properly or heal very slowly
Violet to black discoloration of your toes or other areas of your foot.

These symptoms can happen with other diseases too. So you should go to your doctor if you have any of these symptoms to get them checked out.

Your doctor may ask you some or all of the following questions to find out if you have peripheral arterial disease.

Source:
Leng GC, Fowkes FG.
The Edinburgh Claudication Questionnaire: an improved version of the WHO/Rose Questionnaire for use in epidemiological surveys.
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 1992; 45: 1101-9.

Source:
Sontheimer DL.
Peripheral vascular disease: diagnosis and treatment.
American Family Physician. 2006; 73: 1971-1976.

Where do you get this pain?
Do you get pain when you walk?
Does the pain ever start when you are standing still or sitting?
Do you get pain if you walk uphill or if you're in a hurry?
Do you get pain if you walk normally on level ground?
What happens if you stand still?

Your doctor will also examine you by:

Source:
Hirsch AT, Haskal ZJ, Hetzer NR, et al.
ACC/AHA 2005 Practice Guidelines for the management of patients with peripheral arterial disease
Circulation. 2006; 113: 463-654.

Taking your

blood pressure
Blood pressure is the amount of force exerted by the blood on the walls of the vessels that carry it. You can think of it like the water pressure in your home: the more pressure you have, the faster and more forcefully the water flows out of the shower. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (written as mm Hg). When your blood pressure is taken, the measurement is given as two numbers, for example 120/80 mm Hg. The first, higher, number is called the systolic pressure, and the second, lower, number is the diastolic pressure. The systolic number is the highest pressure that occurs while the heart is pushing blood into the arteries. The diastolic number is the lowest pressure that happens when the heart is relaxing and is not pushing the blood.

blood pressure in both your arms
Checking your

pulse rate
Your pulse rate is the number of times that your heart beats in one minute. A normal rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, but the heart can speed up under certain circumstances, such as when you exert yourself or when you have an infection.

pulse at different places in your legs to see how well the blood is going through the

arteries
Arteries are the blood vessels that take blood that is rich in oxygen and food away from your heart. The arteries carry this blood to all the tissues in your body.

arteries in your legs, and at other places such as your wrist and neck
Looking for unhealed cuts and bruising on your legs and feet.

If your doctor isn't sure whether you have peripheral arterial disease, you may be referred to a specialist for more tests.

You may have some or all of the following tests:

Source:
Sontheimer DL.
Peripheral vascular disease: diagnosis and treatment.
American Family Physician. 2006; 73: 1971-1976.

Source:
Hirsch AT, Haskal ZJ, Hetzer NR, et al.
ACC/AHA 2005 Practice Guidelines for the management of patients with peripheral arterial disease
Circulation. 2006; 113: 463-654.

Source:
Burns P, Gough S, Bradbury AW.
Management of peripheral arterial disease in primary care.
BMJ. 2003; 326: 584-588.

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Exercise tests to see how far you can walk before your leg hurts
Blood pressure measurements in your arms and legs
Blood tests
An

ultrasound
Ultrasound is a tool doctors use to create images of the inside of your body. The ultrasound machine sends out high-frequency sound waves, which are directed at an area of your body through a device such as a probe. The waves reflect off parts of your body to create a picture. Ultrasound is often used to see a developing baby inside a woman's womb.

ultrasound scan to see how well blood is flowing through the arteries to your legs
Angiography (a type of

X-ray
X-rays are pictures taken of the inside of your body. They are done by passing very small amounts of radiation through your body and onto film. X-rays can also be used as a treatment, such as in radiation therapy for cancer.

X-ray that's done to find out if there is a blockage in one of your arteries)
Tests on arteries to your heart and other organs to check for damage.

Sources for the information on this page:

Leng GC, Fowkes FG.The Edinburgh Claudication Questionnaire: an improved version of the WHO/Rose Questionnaire for use in epidemiological surveys.Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 1992; 45: 1101-9.

Sontheimer DL.Peripheral vascular disease: diagnosis and treatment.American Family Physician. 2006; 73: 1971-1976.

Hirsch AT, Haskal ZJ, Hetzer NR, et al.ACC/AHA 2005 Practice Guidelines for the management of patients with peripheral arterial diseaseCirculation. 2006; 113: 463-654.

Burns P, Gough S, Bradbury AW.Management of peripheral arterial disease in primary care.BMJ. 2003; 326: 584-588.

This information was last updated on Sep 02, 2008

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
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