Peripheral artery disease is a condition in which the blood flow to the limbs is reduced due to a narrowing or blockage of the arteries. This narrowing of the arteries is usually caused by fatty buildup (plaque) called atherosclerosis. Peripheral artery disease more commonly affects the legs but may also occur in the arms.

Peripheral artery disease may not have any symptoms or only mild symptoms. The most common symptoms of peripheral artery disease are mild-to-severe leg pain or cramping (claudication). Claudication is most often felt in the calf upon walking or climbing stairs and stops when at rest. Other symptoms of peripheral artery disease include cramping in one or both hips; leg numbness or weakness; cold lower legs and feet; sores or ulcerations on legs, feet, or toes that won’t heal; a bluish or grayish limb skin color; leg muscle wasting; slow hair growth or hair loss on legs; slow toenail growth; weak or absent pulse in legs or feet; pain when using arms such as when writing or doing manual work; and erectile dysfunction in men. Severe peripheral artery disease may also cause pain at rest and interrupt sleep.

Early peripheral artery disease can often be treated with exercise, a healthy diet, and quitting smoking. Treatment for more advanced peripheral artery disease is focused on managing pain and stopping atherosclerosis to prevent blood clots, heart attack, and stroke. Treatments for peripheral artery disease include regular exercise and medications, such as cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins); blood pressure-lowering drugs; blood sugar-lowering drugs; anticoagulant drugs to prevent blood clots, such as aspirin and Plavix; and drugs that increase blood flow to the limbs, such as cilostazol or pentoxifylline. Treatments for peripheral artery disease that is causing claudication include angioplasty, in which a catheter is inserted with a stent to reopen an artery and increase blood flow; and bypass surgery, in which an artery taken from another area of the body, or a synthetic vessel, is grafted around a blocked artery. Thrombolytic therapy, in which a clot-dissolving drug is injected into a blocked artery, may also be used to treat peripheral artery disease that has caused blood clots.