Peripheral Vascular Disease

Symptoms

The symptoms of peripheral vascular disease vary and typically become more severe as the arteries narrow.

In the early stages, common symptoms include:

• Intermittent claudication (pain, cramping or weakness in the legs, buttocks or arms) that occurs with activity (such as walking) and disappears when resting (when the person stops walking).
• Abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms are typically symptomless until they expand, leak or rupture. Severe abdominal and/or back pain may indicate a leak or rupture. A leak or rupture is urgent and patients should seek medical attention immediately.
• Some patients with carotid artery disease may be asymptomatic while others may experience transient ischemic attacks (TIAs, brain attacks, mini-strokes) involving numbness or weakness in an arm or leg, slurred speech or blindness in one eye.

As PVD progresses, the symptoms may increase, including:

• Limping or abnormal gait while walking.
• Aching pain in the feet or toes when resting.
• A sore on the leg, foot or arm that won't heal or becomes infected (vascular ulcer).
• Loss of hair on the legs or arms.
• Change of color, paleness or blueness of the skin on the legs or arms.
• In severe cases, blackened tissue on the toes, feet or fingers, indicating the tissue has died (gangrene), which may require amputation.