What is peripheral artery disease?

For each part of the body to perform its function normally, an adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients must be delivered through the blood vessels. The heart, which acts as the pump supplying blood to every corner of the body, likewise receives the oxygen and nutrients it needs through vessels called the coronary arteries. If for any reason it does not receive the volume of blood flow it requires, metabolic waste accumulates in the heart muscle and it becomes hypoxic, resulting in impaired function. This is called myocardial ischemia.

Impaired heart function caused by myocardial ischemia is called ‘ischemic heart disease’ or ‘coronary artery disease’.

Major vascular diseases are conditions in which major arteries such as the aorta, pulmonary artery, carotid artery, cerebral vessels, renal artery and lower-limb arteries (common iliac artery, femoral artery, etc.) become blocked, dilated, or rupture and bleed.