Peripheral Arterial Disease Specialists in Maharashtra

What is Peripheral Arterial Disease?

Peripheral arterial disease is a circulatory condition in which narrowed arteries, most commonly in the legs, reduce blood flow to the limbs due to the buildup of fatty plaques along the artery walls, a process known as atherosclerosis. This reduced blood supply can cause pain during walking that resolves with rest, known as claudication, and in advanced cases, can lead to non-healing wounds or tissue death. It is a marker of widespread atherosclerosis and significantly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, since the same disease process often affects arteries throughout the body.

Causes of Peripheral Arterial Disease

Primarily caused by atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty deposits within artery walls that progressively narrows blood vessels and restricts blood flow. Major risk factors include smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and advancing age. Chronic inflammation and endothelial damage from these risk factors drive the plaque formation that narrows the arteries over time.

Symptoms of Peripheral Arterial Disease

Leg pain, cramping, or fatigue with walking that improves with rest, numbness or weakness in the legs, coldness in the lower leg or foot compared to the other leg, sores or wounds on the toes or feet that heal slowly, shiny skin on the legs, weak or absent pulses in the feet, hair loss on the legs

Treatment & Types of Peripheral Arterial Disease in Maharashtra

Management focuses on aggressive control of cardiovascular risk factors including smoking cessation, blood pressure and cholesterol management, and diabetes control, alongside a supervised walking exercise program to improve symptoms. Medications to prevent blood clots and improve blood flow are commonly used, while severe blockages causing critical limb ischemia may require angioplasty, stenting, or surgical bypass to restore blood flow and prevent limb loss.

Peripheral arterial disease is staged clinically using systems ranging from asymptomatic disease detected only on testing, through intermittent claudication, pain with walking that resolves with rest, to critical limb ischemia, involving pain at rest and non-healing wounds or tissue death, the most severe stage carrying the highest risk of limb loss.

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