A blocked artery in the leg can lead to reduced blood flow resulting in a wide range of symptoms, from leg cramps and numbness to ulcers and leg hair loss. This condition is also known as peripheral artery disease (PAD) which commonly affects your legs and general mobility. When the arteries are partially or fully blocked with plaque buildup, it constricts blood flow to the muscles. PAD patients may experience discomfort and pain in their legs, because the lack of blood flow keeps oxygen and nutrients from getting through your body, making it more difficult for you to be active. Because it’s a condition that usually develops over time, often making lifestyle changes can help reduce symptoms associated with PAD and reduce the risk for health complications.

At Vascular Care Specialists of Los Angeles, Dr. Mathew Cheung and Dr. Peter Lin discuss the causes and symptoms related to peripheral artery disease. In this article, you will learn more about the warming signs of blocked arteries in your leg. You will also understand treatments are available to take care of your blocked leg arteries so you can get back to doing what you love.

A blocked artery in the leg can feel like your leg is too heavy or tired to perform its normal functions. Your leg might hurt so much that you develop a limp. Sometimes, patients experience both leg pain and fatigue as part of intermittent claudication. You might also notice that minor cuts and wounds take an abnormally long time to heal. They might not even heal at all, instead developing into sores that make it painful to wear socks and shoes. Some people notice that their leg or foot feels numb or cold to the touch.

Each of these blocked artery in the leg symptoms results from the same root cause: insufficient circulation to your legs and feet. Because of the plaque that has accumulated in your peripheral arteries, your limbs aren’t receiving enough nutrients and oxygen from your blood.

Plaque is the most common cause of clogged arteries in the legs. Arteries are muscular vessels that expand and contract to accommodate different blood pressures. In healthy arteries, the artery walls are smooth and elastic.

However, over time, a person’s genetics and lifestyle choices can damage the artery walls, causing excess cholesterol, fat, calcium, fibrin, and cellular waste—the building blocks of plaque—to accumulate in the blood.

The combination of damage to the artery walls as a result of high blood pressure and increased plaque flowing through the arteries causes blocked arteries in the legs. An increase in plaque buildup makes the arteries stiffer, causing poor circulation, which then puts the arteries at an even higher risk of accumulating plaque. It’s a vicious cycle, but understanding the risk factors and doing everything you can to manage your overall health goes a long way toward keeping your arteries healthy.

• Eating a diet high in cholesterol, processed food, and saturated and trans fats
• Lack of exercise or leading a sedentary lifestyle
• High blood pressure
• High blood sugar level
• Stress
• Cigarette smoking
• Obesity
• Genetics/Family history

Cramping leg pain is one of the most common symptoms of peripheral artery disease resulting from blocked or clogged arteries in the legs. In medical terms, this symptom is called intermittent claudication. Many patients feel the effects of intermittent claudication in the calf, leading to pain in the legs while walking. The pain can also occur while climbing stairs, jogging, or running, and goes away with rest. Other symptoms of clogged arteries in the legs include numbness, tingling, wounds not healing, hair loss on the legs or feet, discolored skin, and slowed toenail growth.

If the blockage is severe, you might experience claudication pain even when at rest. This is a symptom of significant plaque buildup in the arteries, typically indicating an advanced stage of PAD. In both the Fontaine and Rutherford classifications of PAD (both of which are used by the medical community to help diagnose the severity of a patient’s condition), leg pain while resting occurs right before the final stages of PAD.

The final stages are the most serious, involving non-healing ulcers, gangrene, and limb death, which may lead to amputation. Thankfully, there are many steps you can take to prevent your PAD from progressing this far.

A blocked artery in the leg can cause serious complications, including the death of tissue in your legs or feet. This happens when the circulation of blood is completely (or almost completely) cut off. As soon as the skin, bones, muscles, and other tissues stop receiving any oxygen or nutrients, they begin to die. As gangrene sets in, the skin will turn a blackish-green color. Without immediate treatment, bacteria from the dead tissue can spread throughout the body, creating a life-threatening situation. Patients with gangrene often need amputation to minimize this risk.

Keep in mind, if you have clogged arteries in the legs, you may have clogged arteries in other parts of your body as well. That’s why PAD is linked to an elevated risk of heart attack and stroke. Diagnosing and treating PAD with lifestyle modifications and medications may help lower your risk of heart attack and stroke, as well.

So, how can you tell if your arteries are blocked or clogged? The simplest test for diagnosing clogged arteries as a result of PAD is to check the pulse in the feet. There should be two pulses, both easily detectable by a trained physician. If a pulse is not detected in one or both feet, an ankle-brachial index (ABI) test is the next step for PAD screening. For an ABI test, your doctor will observe and compare the blood pressure of your arm and leg.

If needed, imaging techniques such as an angiogram, MRI, or ultrasound may be conducted. At USA Vascular Centers, our highly qualified doctors diagnose PAD with either an ankle-brachial index test or an angiogram, which involves injecting contrast dye into the blood vessels and using X-ray imaging to locate any blocked areas.

Once your provider understands the extent and location of the blocked artery in your leg, they can put together a treatment plan to address it.

Treatment for blocked arteries in the legs

Treating blocked arteries in the legs can involve lifestyle changes, medications, or minimally invasive procedures to widen them. You may find that your provider suggests a combination of all three. Therefore treatment options may include:

• Medications – to help treat atherosclerosis, such as statins to lower LDL cholesterol and antihypertensive drugs to lower blood pressure.
• Drugs to treat blood clots – treatment may include various medications (including anticoagulants and anti-platelet drugs) to prevent blood clots from developing and medications (including thrombolytics) that dissolve existing blood clots.
• Angioplasty – this procedure, usually performed under sedation and local anesthetic medication, involves threading a thin tube (catheter) into the narrowed blood vessel through a small incision, usually in the leg. Once the catheter reaches the narrowed or blocked site, the small balloon on its tip is inflated. This widens the blood vessel and improves blood flow. Angioplasty is usually considered as a temporary measure.
• Surgical insertion of a stent – a stent is a metal ‘sleeve’ that is implanted inside the narrowed blood vessel during an angioplasty procedure to prop it open. Stents may be impregnated with medications that help to prevent scar tissue from narrowing the treated area of blood vessel.
• Atherectomy – this operation involves cutting away the fatty obstruction with a small scalpel-like instrument.
• Bypass surgery – this operation is usually only considered in severe cases that don’t respond to other treatments or in cases that involve large sections of the diseased blood vessel. A section of healthy vein is taken from somewhere else in the body and surgically grafted to re-route blood flow around the blockage in the affected blood vessel. A surgeon may sometimes use a piece of synthetic tubing to detour blood flow.

Lifestyle changes are an important part of treatment. Be guided by your doctor, but general self-help suggestions include:

• Take steps to properly manage risk factors, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, as advised by your doctor.
• Quit smoking.
• Exercise regularly. Ask your doctor for advice on appropriate activities.
• Eat a low-fat, high-fiber diet.
• Maintain a healthy weight for your height and build.
• Take care of injuries to the affected area, for example, dress wounds promptly and seek medical attention. •Take all medications strictly as prescribed.
• See your doctor for regular check-ups.
• See your doctor if you have symptoms in the affected body part such as redness, warmth and swelling. These symptoms could be signs of infection. Treatment may include antibiotics.

At Vascular Care Specialists of Los Angeles, we strive to provide the best service, care, and results possible. If you have peripheral arterial disease and other circulation conditions, give us a call at 626-275-9566 to schedule an appointment. You can also visit us at www.vcsla.com for more information.