Circulatory disorders of the lower extremities
Blood, rich in nutrients and oxygen, moves through the arteries in the direction
from the heart to the organs and tissues. If blood flow in arteries, supplying lower
limbs, due to the progression of atherosclerosis is violated, then their tissues
receive enough oxygen and nutrients and develops the disease, called «peripheral
arterial disease», or the «disease of the arteries of the legs».
Violation of blood circulation in the lower extremities may occur feeling of
discomfort or pain while walking. Pain may occur in various areas of the lower
extremities: the sole of the foot, the shins, knees, thigh, waist, depending on the
damage to the various departments of the arteries.
The risk of development and the first occurrence of the first clinical signs
increases with age. In the age group over 70 years of peripheral arterial disease
suffer one of three people. Smoking or having diabetes increases the risk of
development of this disease.
Symptoms of poor circulation in the lower extremities:
It should be remembered that in rare cases, disease peripheral arteries of the lower
limbs may be asymptomatic. The most common symptom of this disease,
intermittent claudication. Intermittent claudication is discomfort or pain in the
lower extremities, which arise when walking and disappear on its termination.
Sometimes You may not feel expressed pain, but at the same time, You can
greatly disturb the sense of weight, muscle cramps or weakness in the lower
extremities. More quickly intermittent claudication occurs when lifting up. The
progression of the disease intermittent claudication is beginning to occur to all
over smaller distances.
Critical ischemia of lower extremities occurs when a strong violation of blood
supply of tissues of the lower extremities. Due to the tissue of the lower
extremities receive enough oxygen and nutrients, therefore, there is a painful
feeling expressed intensity, with the localization of the hip and to the tips of her
fingers even at rest, and growing at a minimum the physical load on the lower
limbs.
With a severe degree of ischemia of the lower extremities may cause dryness of
the skin, lower their temperature, pallor, as well as the emergence of trophic
ulcers, expressed painful. In the absence of treatment will inevitably develops
necrosis of soft tissues and gangrene of lower extremities.
At the present time in the world there are more than 150 million diabetes mellitus
patients. The use of insulin and other hypoglycemic agents helped to significantly
reduce mortality from metabolic complications and in the first place, among the
deadly complications of diabetes, came out of the cardio-vascular complications.
In diabetes mellitus type 2 the defeat of arteries of lower extremities occurs in 3-5
times more often; the people free from the endocrine diseases. This fact allowed to
assume that there is a genetic connection between diabetes and atherosclerotic
processes in the arteries. The atherosclerosis in diabetes mellitus much more
aggressive, the frequency of critical ischemia considerably higher than in the rest
of the population, About 40-50% of amputations of lower extremities on the
arterial insufficiency perform in patients with diabetes.
The defeat of vessels in diabetes is divided into macroangiopathy (artery) and
microangiopathy (capillaries and arterioles). Reduction of blood flow in the
microvascular the mainstream on the background of destruction as the main
arteries, and capillaries, leads to the development of ossification of the plots of the
soft tissues of the foot. Contributes to this process of reduction of immunity and
the acceding infection. The simultaneous presence of pathology of blood vessels,
diabetic nerve damage, trophic disorders of the foot and its deformation caused the
emergence of a specific term - "diabetic foot".
Risk factors of disorders of blood circulation in the lower extremities:
- Smoking;
- Insular diabetes;
- High blood pressure;
- High cholesterol or triglycerides;
- High level of homocysteine (an amino acid that is present in the blood);
- Excess body weight more than on 30%.