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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Peripheral artery disease is often caused by atherosclerosis. In atherosclerosis, fatty deposits (plaques) build up in your artery walls and reduce blood flow.
Although the heart is usually the focus of discussion of atherosclerosis, this disease can and usually does affect arteries throughout your body. When it occurs in the arteries supplying blood to your limbs, it causes peripheral artery disease.
Less commonly, the cause of PAD may be blood vessel inflammation, injury to your limbs, unusual anatomy of your ligaments or muscles, or radiation exposure.
- Peripheral artery disease. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec07/ch080/ch080f.html. Accessed Feb. 8, 2010.
- Peripheral artery disease. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pad/pad_all.html. Accessed Feb. 6, 2010.
- Mohler III ER. Clinical features, diagnosis, and natural history of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 29, 2010.
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD). Society for Vascular Surgery. http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Leg_Artery_Disease.html. Accessed Feb. 6, 2010.
- Hankey GJ. Medical treatment of peripheral artery disease. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2006;295:547.
- Peripheral vascular disease. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4692. Accessed Feb. 6, 2010.
- Hirsch AT, et al. ACC/AHA 2005 guidelines for the management of patients with peripheral arterial disease. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2006;47:e1.
- Langlois M, et al. Serum vitamin C concentration is low in peripheral arterial disease and is associated with inflammation and severity of atherosclerosis. Circulation. 2001;103:1863.
- Lane JS, et al. Nutrition impacts the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease in the United States. Journal of Vascular Surgery. 2008;48:897.
- Kuller LH. Does gingko biloba reduce the risk of cardiovascular events? Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. 2010;3:41.
- Anderson CF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Rochester, Minn. Feb. 9, 2010.
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