Lower limb Ischemia; the lower legs are more prone to ischemia than other body areas – oxygen starvation of the tissues – if the blood flow is reduced. Lower limb ischemia may occur when blood flow in an artery is reduced due to a thrombus (clot) or atheroma (fatty deposit), embolism, or constriction from an injury or local pressure. If ischemia is sudden (acute), as when a large thrombus blocks a major artery, the result is a cold, painful, blue, pulseless leg, which needs emergency treatment to prevent shock and gangrene. Any clot needs to be dissolved by drugs, or surgically removed to restore the circulation; is the tissue dies, the only option is amputation.
Long-term (chronic) ischemia may cause intermittent claudication (cramp-like pains
Long-term (chronic) ischemia may cause intermittent claudication (cramp-like pains