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Summary Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
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An in-depth summary of peripheral artery disease for nursing students.
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PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASE✓ Define the concept of peripheral artery disease
✓ Explain the causes of peripheral artery disease
✓ Relate the clinical manifestations of peripheral artery disease to the pathophysiology
✓ thereof
✓ Describe the needed diagnostic tests for this condition
✓ Describe how peripheral artery disease can be prevented
✓ Describe the medications used for peripheral artery disease
✓ Shortly provide the surgical management of peripheral artery disease
Define the concept of peripheral artery disease
• Also known as peripheral vascular disease or peripheral artery occlusive disease
• A group of conditions that include disturbances or obstruction of the circulation in the
arteries, causing arterial insufficiency to the affected organs and tissues.
• Peripheral artery disease does not include coronary arteries, aortic arch, and cerebral
arteries.
• PAD can be acute or chronic
• Buerger's disease and Raynaud's phenomenon are clinical disease entities of PAD.
Explain the causes of peripheral artery disease
• Atherosclerosis: causes blood vessels to be narrower and therefore less blood can flow
through
• Stenosis of arteries: blood vessel is unable to stretch and vasodilate
• Thrombosis: occlusion of a blood vessel leads to ischaemia of other areas
• Emboli: similarly occluding blood vessels and preventing peripheral circulation
Clinical manifestations
About 20% of patients with PAD are asymptomatic if the condition is mild.
• Intermittent claudication (exercise-induced cramping in the legs) triggered by walking
• Mild pain due to incomplete blood vessel occlusion
• Pain at rest as a result of ischaemia, especially after the elevation of the affected limb
• Slow healing of sores, wounds and ulcers causing tissue loss
• Blue or pale skin
• Temperature drops of the skin compared to other areas
• Decreased hair and nail growth on the affected limb and digits
• Gangrene
• Walking difficulty
Pathophysiology:
• PAD is characterized by reduced blood circulation through the peripheral blood vessels.
• This can be due to pump failure, blood and lymphatic vessel alterations or circulatory
insufficiency in the extremities.
• Pump failure: The heart's pumping action is ineffective. This can be due to left- or right-
sided heart failure.
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