The disease of the peripheral arteries appears because of a poor blood flow in the arteries, namely the peripheral ones. By definition, the arteries are kind of corridors in the body, which take the blood to the muscles and various organs, irrigating the entire body. If these corridors become narrowed or clotted because of an illness, then they will not be able to offer enough blood to the body, brain, muscles and organs, which will pose serious and numerous problems to the functioning of the body.

Peripheral arterial disease symptoms are the signs of illness in the peripheral arteries, and this illness may also be called peripheral vascular disease, or disease of the peripheral vasculature. In this article I will concentrate on the peripheral arterial disease symptoms present in illnesses that affect the legs, since the legs are the ones that show the most cases of peripheral arterial disease symptoms or occurrence.

Most commonly, illnesses of the peripheral arteries consist of the creation and development of some sort of layers within the blood vessels, and these additional layers seem like plaque. This plaque is produced from additional cholesterol, calcium as well as other elements contained or transported through the blood stream, and these elements, in time, start remaining on the inside of artery walls, which means that the arteries that supply blood to the legs may, of course, develop plaque as well. The occurrence of this plaque causes the peripheral arteries to become narrower, which damages to supply of oxygen and nutrients which, in turn, has an impact on the organs that are supposed to receive these elements.

When plaque starts forming, or when it is formed, the process is called atherosclerosis or calcification of the arteries – and this process usually occurs in the leg, coronary or carotid arteries. When the plaque strikes at the coronary arteries, the disease is called coronary atherosclerosis. The disease of atherosclerosis evolves in stages throughout the human life cycle. It is aided by high levels of cholesterol, by deficient blood pressure as well as by that arch enemy of health, called smoking.

The usual suspects in terms of peripheral arterial disease symptoms can include, but are not limited to, a great feeling of tense or painful calves, pain in the thighs or the lower part of the buttocks, which can occur during ordinary and routine activities such as walking or climbing steps. Usually the pain appears after the same amount of effort every time, in the initial phases, and it goes away once the effort is ceased.

But we must remember that sometimes the disease may not have any symptoms. Some of the latest studies show that only 3 out of 9 individuals show symptoms such as on and off claudication. Some of the patients do, indeed, claim pain in the legs, thighs or buttocks, but the phenomenon does not reach as far as to cause claudication. Other studies, focusing on different aspects of the illness, have shown that men are more vulnerable to claudication than women, namely men are more likely to see a development of on and off claudication.