No Blood Flow. No Healing. How Is Poor Blood Circulation Dangerous?

Poor blood circulation could be a symptom of peripheral artery disease or more serious health risks.

Minor cuts or small injuries typically heal in weeks if not days. Why then are some wounds — such as a foot wound — so slow to heal? Other factors aside, one cause of a slow or non-healing foot wound could be poor circulation.
 
Chia-Ding Shih, DPM, is a podiatric surgeon at Keck Medicine of USC specializing in chronic wounds of the foot and ankle, lower extremity biomechanics and foot and ankle reconstructive surgery. He explains why poor blood circulation can indicate more serious health problems.

What is peripheral artery disease?

Poor circulation often occurs when the blood supply cannot meet the demand from the tissue in the lower extremities. This medical condition — poor circulation — is also known as peripheral artery disease (PAD).
 
Based on limited data, peripheral artery disease may affect up to 8.5 million American adults, roughly 7% of the U.S. population.
 
Causes of peripheral artery disease can change over time. For example, the rising prevalence of diabetes and the aging population are both increasingly influences today, while a current decline in cigarette smoking may help offset some of this increase. Regardless of what the causes may be, a healthy lifestyle is undoubtedly essential to preventing peripheral artery disease.

Symptoms of peripheral artery disease and CLTI

More advanced forms of peripheral artery disease can lead to chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). This increases patients’ risk of limb loss and mortality. Thus, recognizing early signs of peripheral artery disease is paramount to preventing the progression to CLTI.
 
Symptoms of peripheral artery disease and CLTI can go unnoticed until the toes turn purple, blue or black. CLTI is defined when there is a presence of peripheral artery disease in addition to pain at rest, gangrene or a non-healing lower extremity wound for more than two weeks. These symptoms are the results of blockage or narrowing of the blood vessels to the lower extremities.
 
Peripheral artery disease and CLTI symptoms include:

• Leg cramping during walking
• Foot and leg pain that disturbs sleeps but improves after dangling the foot
• Non-healing wound in the lower extremities
• Mottled purple skin on the foot
• Affected foot is cold to touch
• Toe and foot gangrene

Risk factors of peripheral artery disease and CLTI

Risk factors for peripheral artery disease coincide with heart disease, as both of these conditions are related to the blood vessels. When there is a disturbance to the blood supply to the heart, one may experience a heart attack. Similarly, if blood supply to the lower extremities is inadequate, peripheral artery disease and CLTI can occur.
 
Risk factors of peripheral artery disease and CLTI include:

• Advanced age
• Chronic kidney disease
• Cigarette smoking history
• Diabetes
• Family history of peripheral artery disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol

If you detect any of these symptoms, seek medical attention right away.

Preventing peripheral artery disease

Diagnosing peripheral artery disease is quick and noninvasive. An ultrasound study is typically the first step and can identify the diseased vessels. Furthermore, the advancement of endovascular therapy, which is therapeutic and diagnostic, may also prevent the progression of peripheral artery disease to CLTI.
 
As with other cardiovascular diseases, preventing peripheral artery disease and CLTI requires lifestyle changes and early recognition of symptoms.
 
Prevention strategies include:

• Smoking cessation
• Eating a healthy diet comprising low salt and low fat
• Controlling diabetes
• Exercising regularly
• Checking feet daily and seeking medical attention early

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