Health Resource Center
Circulation Disease/PAD
Aug 20th 2008
“Poor
circulation” is a problem affecting millions of Americans. It can have a
dramatic impact on the quality of an individual’s life depending on the
location and severity of the disease and, in the worst case, result in
significant disability including loss of a limb, paralysis from stroke and even
death. In most instances it can be detected and treated long before it
becomes this severe, particularly if individuals are aware of potential
symptoms and signs and report them to a physician. Likewise, individuals
at risk for poor circulation can benefit from early detection before symptoms
are experienced, especially as prevention strategies and treatments
improve. In most cases the term “circulation disease” is used to describe
peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Peripheral arterial disease is the
term applied to a broad range of disease that have as their common cause
blockage in the arteries that provide circulation to organs other than the
heart. Arteries, as opposed to veins, carry blood from the heart to the
various organs; veins carry blood away from the organs and back to the
heart. Blockage in the heart’s arteries is called coronary artery disease
and is described elsewhere.
Click here to learn more about peripheral arterial disease.