Know More About the Symptoms and Types of Vascular Disease
It’s not just your feet that suffer from the process that causes peripheral vascular disease – the feet are indicators of what is going on in the rest of your body. The consequences of clogged and blocked arteries and also veins are life threatening.
Signs & Symptoms of Vascular Disease of the Foot
There are many diseases that can affect this system and, while most are not immediately life-threatening, you should seek medical advice if you have any of the pertinent symptoms because these symptoms can quickly get worse. Particularly in the legs, some common symptoms include:
- Arterial symptoms – These are symptoms that show the patient may have an arterial issue. Coldness in feet, numbness in legs and feel, tingling of legs and feet, tingling when walking.
- Venous symptoms – These are symptoms that show the patient may have a venous issue. Restless feet, restless legs and feet at night, visible varicose veins, leg swelling, feet swelling, and leg pain during exertion.
Symptoms of potential vascular disease in the feet include:
- Pain when walking or exercising.
- Pain when resting across the top of the foot and toes. If you elevate your feet, the problem gets worse.
- Ulcers and possibly gangrene.
- Pale feet when elevated.
- Discolored feet.
- Feet swelling
- Difficulty in moving toes and also flexing feet.
- Low or no pulse in the foot.
- Sensations of numbness or tingling.
Types of Vascular Disease of the Foot
There are many types of vascular diseases that can occur in the legs – below are some of the common ones that can be treated and also the cause of the disease.
- Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). PAD is caused by a chronic narrowing or blockage in the arteries and can lead to several problems, including cramps, pain, sores, skin-color changes and ulcers. In the most severe cases, called critical limb ischemia (CLI), amputation may then be needed.
- Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (PCS). PCS is caused by the pooling of blood in your pelvis due to insufficient outflow. This typically leads to symptoms in the pelvis but can exacerbate symptoms in your lower extremities as well.
- May-Thurner Syndome (MTS). MTS is defined by compression of the left common iliac vein by the right common iliac artery. This compression narrows the left common iliac vein and reduces the amount of blood that can be circulated out of your legs.
- Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI). CVI is commonly caused by the failure or degradation of the valves in your veins. Some common symptoms of CVI include varicose veins and spider veins.
- Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). DVT occurs when a blood clot develops deep in a vein. This can be life threatening if part of or the whole clot dislodges and travels to the lung. This is called a pulmonary embolism and you should seek urgent medical attention.
- Post-Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS). PTS typically occurs as a result of a DVT or other trauma that causes damage to the valves in your veins. When your valves are damaged, blood pools because it is less efficiently circulated out of your legs.
You can generalize these diseases as failures to transport blood to or from key areas of the body. It is best to treat these diseases as early as possible to avoid future complications.
Are you suffering from this condition? At The Chelsea Clinic, we can help. One of our podiatrist can assist and then recommend what treatments are best to get you back on track. Podiatrist South Kensington
Schedule an appointment here or you may call us at +44 (0) 207 101 4000.
We hope you have a feetastic day!
-The Chelsea Clinic and Team
Check our latest blog about Chilblains
Learn more about Chronic Venous Insufficiency
Check our blog about Post Thrombotic Syndrome https://www.thechelseaclinic.uk/post-thrombotic-syndrome/
