Peripheral artery disease usually affects the legs, but also can affect the arteries that carry blood from patient’s heart to his head, arms, kidneys, and stomach.
Atherosclerosis is a common cause of peripheral artery disease, especially to older people wherein it is a condition in which fatty deposits build up on the inside walls of the arteries, that reduces blood flow, which becomes more common with aging.
Peripheral artery disease can cause discomfort or pain when the patient walk. The pain can occur in the patient hips, buttocks, thighs, knees, shins, or upper feet. These symptoms usually appear during walking or exercise and go away after several minutes of rest.
Leg artery disease is considered a type of peripheral arterial disease because it affects the arteries, blood vessels that carry blood away from heart to limbs.
Peripheral arterial disease affects 8 to 12 million people in the United States. African Americans are more than twice as likely as Caucasians to have peripheral arterial disease. The major risk factors for peripheral arterial disease smoking, age, and having certain diseases or conditions.
The prevalence of peripheral arterial disease increases sharply with age, from 3% in patients younger than 60 years of age to 20% inpatients older than 75 years of age.
Peripheral artery disease
