Peripheral artery disease is a prevalent condition that greatly increases risk of death from myocardial infarction or stroke. In the clinic, PAD will most often present itself as intermittent claudication. It is important to understand this disease’s symptoms, progression, risk factors, and pharmacological treatment options to provide patients with individualized, high-quality physical therapy.
Pathophysiology:
Peripheral artery disease is caused by the narrowing and hardening of blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the periphery of the body. Arterial occlusion from atherosclerosis could be found in many locations throughout the body; however, the lower extremities are affected more often than the upper extremities.1
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Tobacco use is an important contributor to PAD, as smoking promotes atherosclerotic changes in the endothelium of blood vessels. Almost 90% of patients diagnosed with PAD are current or former smokers; smokers’ risk of PAD is positively correlated with the number of cigarettes they smoked each day, and the number of years they smoked for.1
Diabetes also increases the risk of PAD by causing dysfunction of the smooth muscle and endothelium of the arteries. The risk of developing PAD is positively correlated with the duration and severity of the patient’s diabetes. Dyslipidemia accelerates the progression of PAD, and hypertension can increase the incidence of intermittent claudication.1
Clinical Manifestations:
The symptoms of Peripheral Artery Disease are classified into four different stages.
In stage one, the patient is asymptomatic; approximately 50% of individuals with PAD are asymptomatic.4 They will not have pain with exercises, however, their distal lower
Intermittent claudication is a symptom of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). PAD is the gradual narrowing or full or partial blockage of the arteries due to plague, which is also known as atherosclerosis. This blockage deprives the lower extremities form receiving adequate blood that contain oxygen and nutrients. Smoking, obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and familial preposition puts patient at a higher risk for PAD. The elderly are also at a higher risk for PAD due to their various illness. PAD can lead to strokes, chronic angina and myocardial infraction (MI). A nurse assessing a patient with PAD will notice bruit or aneurysm during assessment. This is the first stage of PAD which is also known as the asymptomatic
Peripheral Arterial Disease is a common secondary disease that follows Atherosclerosis. Once so much plaque builds up in the arteries, they become block the blood flow. P.A.D. usually affects the lower extremities and can cause intermittent claudication and, if severe enough, gangrene. Many people live with atherosclerosis and P.A.D. and show no symptoms. There are numerous prevention methods for P.A.D that is similar to preventing any cardiovascular disease. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is by far, the best form of prevention.
Polyarteritis Nodosa is an autoimmune disease caused by immune deposition in the wall of small to medium sized muscular arteries.13 This process promotes infiltration with polymorphic leukocytes and liberation of necrotizing enzymes, leading to thrombosis, tissue ischemia, fibrosis, and ultimately tissue scarring. PAN may affect virtually every organ system and has a wide constellation of clinical manifestations (Table 1).14 Establishing the diagnosis of PAN is very difficult as there are no laboratory abnormalities specific for PAN. Acute phase reactants, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein, are commonly increased.14 Chronic anemia is also frequently present.14 Histopathological evidence of vascular inflammation
First, I would like to emphasize the value of accurately diagnose a patient with PAD. Diagnosing a patient with PAD should not be taken for granted due to substantial reasons: Patients may suffer from complications related to PAD, including periodic disability of walking, critical limb ischemia, arterial insufficiency ulcers, frequent hospitalization, coronary revascularization and amputation (Hirsch et al., 2006). These contribute to the poor general well-being and causing a greater rate of depression (McDermott et al., 2003; Regensteiner et al., 2008). Patients with PAD are likely to
It is mainly as a result of one of these three problems: ST elevation myocardial infarction, unstable angina and lastly non ST elevation myocardial infarction with chest pain being the main symptom (Linton, 2012). There are five main pathophysiologic processes that contribute to the development of ACS: thrombus on pre-existing plaque, active obstruction from coronary spasm, progressive mechanical obstruction, infection and unstable angina due to oxygen supply to myocardial (Linton, 2012). ACS is mainly caused by thrombus formation on a pre-existing plaque and it can be demonstrated through angiography or autopsies (Marshall, 2010). A thrombus is formed from plasma coagulation and platelets. There are risk factors that contribute to ACS such as cigarette smoking, diabetes, hypertension and high blood cholesterol (Linton, 2012). Both men and women are at a risk of having a heart attack. However it is more common in men especially when having a family background of heart attack, being overweight and inactive (Scruth, Carter, Cheng, Rolley, & Page, 2012). Modifying and identifying the risk factors is important as it can prevent further heart problems.
Stiffening of the artery has also been shown to have a high correlation with atherosclerosis [76].
systemic and ocular vascular diseases is cigarette smoking1. It is known that smoking is especially associated with
A major proportion of AMI occur in plaques that have not revealed clinically prior to the infarction, that is have not initiated adequate degree of luminal obstruction results angina, which obfuscates screening and interventional primary preventive procedures (38,44,45). Plaque distraction is the core remarkable reason of AMI. The procedure there the fibrous cap of a plaque ruptures plus reveal the blood for primary pro-thrombotic yields and following thrombus development is convoluted (39,44). Lessened collagen synthesis or amplified mortification of extracellular matrix all subsidize to this course. A lesser degree of smooth muscle cells (with attendant declined matrix production) as well as a extreme degree of lipids, inflammatory cells
As blood pressure rises and “the blood moves with enough force, [it] increases the chances of tearing that plaque loose” and rupturing it (Sapolsky, 2004, p. 45). When a rupture occurs, the material that has become loose, a blood clot known as a thrombus, can pose as much more of a threat to a person’s life than the initial build up of plaque. If the thrombus blocks a coronary vessel then the heart muscle is unable to receive blood that is full of needed oxygen and other essential nutrients, this is known as cardiac ischemia (Steffen, Lecture 11). Ischemia can cause angina and discomfort. Another possible result of a blocked coronary artery is a heart attack, which can lead to death, and if a blood vessel in the brain is clogged then a stoke will occur.
Peripheral Vascular disease (PVD) is a circulatory condition that narrows the blood vessels to the body except heart and brain. Blood vessels transport blood throughout the body in the circulatory system and it have three main types which it is arteries, capillaries, and veins. Arteries is strong and flexible that convey blood away from the heart. Capillaries is tiny and thin that help oxygen and nutrients go from the blood though the tissues and take the wastes out from tissues into the blood. Veins is larger that convey blood toward the heart. If blood vessels breaks or in cut, the blood may leak out that causes bleeding in the skin that lead petechiae or purpura.
Peripheral artery disease and cancer are prevalent conditions that often coexist. Thromboembolic complications are the
When investigating the true cost of smoking cigarettes there is an overwhelming amount of research into the multiple effects smoking has on health. The smoke inhaled when smoking a cigarette contains 4,000 compounds which often leave toxic traces in the lungs and other organs. This is one of the biggest contributing factors as to why smokers visit the GP and hospital more often, have lower survival rate after surgery and take longer to heal wounds compared with non-smokers. The inhalation of the smoke is also known to cause around 60 carcinogens, which can harm every organ in the body, especially the heart. Cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease make up 10% of all heart related diseases caused by smoking. The tobacco smoke inhaled can seriously damage blood vessels increasing your chance of developing atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is caused by a thick substance called plaque which accumulates in the coronary arteries. As
Atherosclerosis is a disease dealing with the heart. This disease causes hardening, narrowing, or even blockage of the arteries, which makes the arteries thicken. Fat, calcium and plaque buildup are all components of atherosclerosis. The accumulations of calcium, fat, and plaque buildup quietly and slowly block the arteries, putting blood flow at an extremely high risk. Atherosclerosis is typically the reason for heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral vascular disease. These diseases with each other are called cardiovascular disease.1
Smoking creates toxins in the blood. This greatly contributes to the development of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a condition in which fatty material is deposited along the walls of the arteries. This fatty material thickens, hardens, and can eventually block the arteries if not treated. Clots may also form around the plaque deposits. Smoking raises the levels of proteins that cause the blood to clot and also increases platelet production, making the blood stickier which further creates risk for clots. This also interferes with the blood flow and poses an added danger if they were to break off and travel through the body causeing assorted health problems such as heart attack, stroke, or gangrene.
Cigarette smoking plays a key role in all the phases of atherosclerosis from endothelial dysfunction to acute clinical events, the latter being largely thrombotic. Both active and passive (environmental) cigarette smoking predisposes to cardiovascular events. Whether or not there is a distinct direct dose-dependent correlation between cigarette smoking and cardiovascular disease is debatable, as some recent experimental clinical studies have shown a non-linear relation between them. The exact toxic contents of cigarette smoke and the