CONDITIONS TREATED

Poor Circulation and Claudication

What is Poor Circulation?

If the circulation of blood around your body is restricted, most usually as a result of hardening of your arteries (artherosclerosis), your feet and legs in particular may not receive enough blood flow. This is called peripheral vascular disease, and may cause pain when you walk or cuts and bruises may take longer to heal or turn into ulcers.

Diabetes is the most common cause of peripheral vascular disease. The symptoms that you experience can depend on which artery is affected and how much the blood flow is reduced. You may also develop poor circulation through lack of exercise, smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol in your blood.

What symptoms may I have?

The dull cramp in your calf muscles - called Claudication - is a common symptom after walking. Poor circulation may also mean you experience:

  • Numbness or tingling in your feet or toes
  • Your skin colour becomes paler, bluish or reddish
  • Your feet feel colder
  • Skin irritations, infections or sores do not heal properly
  • You may develop gangrene

Duplex

The causes of peripheral vascular disease are, like heart disease, risky to ignore. Exercise, good diet and being a non-smoker will help you avoid poor circulation but if you are diagnosed as diabetic, good control of your blood glucose level is vital. Medical examination may need to be followed up with diagnostic imaging tests (see also Imaging Services) to show more clearly what is causing your poor blood circulation. These may include:

Ultrasound - uses high-frequency sound waves to view the blood vessels and highlight any narrowing in the arteries. Recommended if you are over 60 or have heart disease.

Angiography - using Digital Subtraction Angiography a map of your arteries is built up following injection of a contrast dye into your blood vessels. CTA or MRA may also be used to give a computerised image of your arteries.

Treatment/Surgical Intervention

The vast majority of patients with this condition should be on treatment to thin the blood (antiplatelet agents or anticoagulants) and reduce cholesterol (statins). In some patients it may be appropriate to recommend intervention directly at the site of the arterial stenosis or occlusion. In some cases the area can be opened up with angioplasty ( +/- a stent) performed under local anaesthetic, but in others bypass surgery may be needed. This is usually reserved for more severe cases and involves bypassing the diseased artery in the leg either using a prosthetic tube or one of the leg veins which is attached to healthy artery above and below the occluded area.