Arterial Conditions
Arterial disease is any condition that affects your arteries, the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from your heart to the rest of your body. This means that arterial disease can affect many parts of the body, from heart to kidneys to legs. Symptoms vary based on the condition, though the most common are fever, weight loss, and aches and pains.
About Arterial Conditions
You are more likely to develop an arterial condition if you:
- Are obese
- Eat a lot of high-calorie or salty food
- Have a sedentary lifestyle
- Have diabetes
- Have high blood pressure (hypertension)
- Have high cholesterol
- Smoke
The way we diagnose and treat these conditions varies, but we typically start by checking your blood pressure. Some of the most common arterial conditions are:
- Aneurysm is a bulge in the artery wall caused by weakness in the wall.
- Aortic dissection is a tear in the aorta wall that causes bleeding.
- Buerger’s disease causes blood vessels to become inflamed and blocked with blood clots.
- Carotid artery disease/stroke prevention is a narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the brain.
- Carotid dissection is a tear in the carotid artery wall that causes bleeding.
- Claudication is pain in the leg caused by narrowing of the arteries.
- Fibromuscular dysplasia is abnormal growth within the blood vessel wall.
- Intestinal artery disease restricts the flow of oxygenated blood to the intestines.
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a narrowing of the arteries to the legs, stomach, arms, and head.
- Renal artery disease restricts the flow of oxygenated blood to the kidneys.