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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Intestinal ischemia (is-KE-me-uh) occurs when the blood flow through the major arteries that supply blood to your intestines is slowed or stopped.
Intestinal ischemia has many potential causes, including a blockage in an artery caused by a blood clot, or a narrowing of an artery due to buildup of deposits, such as cholesterol.
Whatever the cause, diminished blood flow within your digestive tract leaves cells with insufficient oxygen. Under these conditions, cells become weak and die. If damage is severe enough, infection and gangrene may result. If untreated, intestinal ischemia can be fatal.
Intestinal ischemia is often divided into several categories:
Colon ischemia (ischemic colitis)
The most common type of intestinal ischemia is colon ischemia, which occurs when blood flow to the colon is slowed. It most often occurs in adults older than 60, although it may develop at any age.
Signs and symptoms of colon ischemia include rectal bleeding and the sudden onset of mild, crampy pain on the left side of the abdomen. What causes diminished blood flow to the colon isn't always clear, but a number of conditions can make you more vulnerable to colon ischemia:
- Buildup of cholesterol deposits on the walls of an artery (atherosclerosis)
- Dangerously low blood pressure (hypotension) associated with heart failure, major surgery, trauma or shock
- A blood clot in an artery supplying the colon
- Bowel obstruction caused by a hernia, scar tissue or a tumor
- Heart, blood vessel, intestinal or gynecologic surgeries
- Other medical disorders that affect your blood, such as inflammation of your blood vessels (vasculitis), lupus or sickle cell anemia
- Some medications, especially those that constrict blood vessels, such as some heart and migraine medications, and hormone medications, such as estrogen
- Cocaine or methamphetamine use
- Vigorous exercise, such as long-distance running
Acute mesenteric ischemia
This type of intestinal ischemia usually affects the small intestine. It has an abrupt onset and may be due to:
- A blood clot that dislodges from your heart and travels through your bloodstream to block an artery, usually the superior mesenteric artery, leading to your intestines. This is the most common cause of acute mesenteric artery ischemia and can be brought on by congestive heart failure, an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or a heart attack.
- A blockage that develops within one of the main intestinal arteries and slows or stops blood flow, often as a result of fatty deposits (atherosclerosis) building up on the wall of an artery. This type of sudden ischemia tends to occur in people with chronic intestinal ischemia.
- Impaired blood flow resulting from low blood pressure due to shock, heart failure, certain medications or chronic kidney failure. This is more common in people who have other serious illnesses and who have some degree of atherosclerosis. You may hear this type of acute mesenteric ischemia referred to as nonocclusive ischemia, which means that it's not due to a vascular obstruction.
Chronic mesenteric ischemia
Chronic mesenteric ischemia, also known as intestinal angina, results from the buildup of fatty deposits along the wall of an artery (atherosclerosis). The disease process is generally gradual and you may not require treatment until at least two of the three major arteries supplying your intestines become severely narrowed or completely obstructed. A potentially dangerous complication of chronic mesenteric ischemia is the development of a blood clot within a diseased artery, causing blood flow to be suddenly blocked (acute mesenteric ischemia).
Ischemia that occurs when blood can't leave your intestines
A blood clot can develop in a vein draining deoxygenated blood away from your intestines. When the vein is blocked, blood backs up in the intestines, causing swelling and bleeding. This is called mesenteric venous thrombosis and it may result from:
- Acute or chronic inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Abdominal infection
- Cancers of the digestive system
- Bowel diseases, such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease or diverticulitis
- Disorders that make your blood more prone to clotting (hypercoagulation disorders), such as an inherited protein deficiency
- Trauma to your abdomen
- Menopausal hormone therapy
- Brandt LJ, et al. Intestinal ischemia. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisinger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/linkTo?type=bookHome&isbn=978-1-4160-6189-2&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6189-2..X0001-7--TOP&uniq=200844987-3. Accessed May 17, 2010.
- Hauseer SC. Vascular diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/201609212-3/0/1492/0.html. Accessed May 17, 2010.
- Tendler DA, et al. Acute mesenteric ischemia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 12, 2010.
- Tendler DA, et al. Chronic mesenteric ischemia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 12, 2010.
- Atherosclerosis. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Atherosclerosis/Atherosclerosis_All.html. Accessed May 21, 2010.
- Catheter angiography. RadiologyInfo.org. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angiocath. Accessed May 20, 2010.
- CT angiography (CTA). RadiologyInfo.org. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angioct. Accessed May 19, 2010.
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