Peripheral Arterial Disease of the Legs
Symptoms
Many people who have peripheral arterial disease (PAD) do not have symptoms.
If you do have symptoms, you may have a tight, aching, or squeezing pain in the calf, thigh, or buttock. This pain, called intermittent claudication, usually happens after you have walked a certain distance. For example, your pain may always start after you have walked a block or two or after a few minutes. The pain goes away if you stop walking. As PAD gets worse, you may have pain in your foot or toe when you are not walking.
But, not everyone has intermittent claudication. About 1 out of 5 people with PAD may have intermittent claudication.2 Some people with PAD do not have leg pain simply because they do not walk far enough to bring intermittent claudication on.
Other symptoms of peripheral arterial disease of the legs may include:
- Weak or tired legs.
- Difficulty walking or balancing.
- Cold and numb feet or toes.
- Sores that are slow to heal.
- Foot pain while you are at rest, which indicates that PAD is getting worse.
- Erectile dysfunction.
Physical signs of advanced peripheral arterial disease of the legs may appear, such as:
- Feet and toes that become pale from exercise or when elevated.
- Loss of hair on the feet and toes.
- Feet that turn red when dangled.
- Blue or purple marks on the legs, feet, or toes, caused by reduced oxygen flow to the tissues.
- Ulcers on the feet or toes.
- Gangrene infection (death of tissue), indicated by black skin on the legs or feet.
More severe symptoms may indicate advanced PAD. But symptoms can be affected by or confused with other health conditions the person also has, such as arthritis.
Peripheral arterial disease also can be confused with other conditions with similar symptoms.
Symptoms of leg pain associated with PAD may be mentioned less often by people who have a high pain tolerance, by people with conditions like diabetes who have numbness in their legs that prevents them from sensing pain, or by people who never exert themselves long enough for leg pain to start. These factors may keep peripheral arterial disease from being diagnosed.
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| Author: | Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: February 22, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine David A. Szalay, MD - Vascular Surgery | |
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