This is because these risk factors cause the same changes in arteries in your arms and legs as they do in your coronary arteries.Īs in coronary artery disease, many of these risk factors are out of your control. Not surprisingly, the two diseases also share some common risk factors. A person with heart disease has a 1 in 3 chance of having peripheral artery disease in the legs. National Institutes of Health estimates that a person with PAD has a six to seven times higher risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke or a transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke) than the general population. People who have one are likely to have the other. Having kidney disease (both a risk factor and a consequence of PAD).Īlthough PAD is a different condition from coronary artery disease, the two are related.Having high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia).Having high blood pressure (hypertension).Having a personal or family history of heart or blood vessel disease.Using tobacco products (the most potent risk factor).Regardless of your sex, you’re at risk of developing peripheral arterial disease when you have one or more of these risk factors: In fact, 80% of people with PAD are people who currently or were former smokers. Smoking is the most important risk factor for PAD. What are the risk factors for peripheral arterial disease? The rate at which PAD progresses varies with each person and depends on many factors, including where in your body the plaque forms and your overall health. This most often occurs in your toes and feet. This causes damage ― and eventually death ( gangrene) ― to the tissues below the blockage. If your arteries become narrowed or blocked with plaque or a blood clot, blood can’t get through to nourish organs and other tissues. Blood clots can form around the plaque, making your artery even narrower. The hard surface can crack or tear, allowing platelets (disc-shaped particles in your blood that help it clot) to come to the area. Many plaque deposits are hard on the outside and soft on the inside. This plaque is also known as atherosclerosis.

When you have peripheral artery disease, plaque (made of fat, cholesterol and other substances) that forms gradually inside your artery walls slowly narrows your arteries.

Shaped like hollow tubes, arteries have a smooth lining that prevents blood from clotting and promotes steady blood flow.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), also known as peripheral vascular disease or peripheral artery disease, is plaque buildup in your leg arteries that carry oxygen and nutrient-rich blood from your heart to your arms and legs. What is peripheral arterial disease (PAD)? Effects of atherosclerosis on leg arteries.

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