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Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Directory
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a narrowing of arteries in the legs that limits mobility, causes pain, and creates poor circulation. Atherosclerosis is a common cause of PAD. The symptoms may be present in any part of the legs from the thigh to the feet. PAD treatments include lifestyle changes, taking prescription medications, and exercising. Follow the links below to find WebMD's comprehensive coverage about how peripheral arterial disease is caused as well as symptoms, causes, and treatments.
Medical Reference View All Quizzes News Archive View AllExercise May Induce Strokes For People With Blocked Arteries
Many overlook the warnings preceding workout classes that encourage consulting a doctor before participating in rigorous exercise. After all, isn't exercise good for you? However, certain conditions could make the increased heart rate, associated with exercise, dangerous.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur found that an elevated heart rate can induce a stroke in patients with highly blocked carotid arteries. Contrastingly, for healthy patients and those with only slightly blocked arteries, exercise is beneficial for maintaining healthy blood flow.
Carotid arteries supply blood flow to facial tissues and the brain and are located on both sides of the neck. When fat, cholesterol, and other particles build up the inner carotid walls, they form a plaque that narrows the artery.
The narrowing is called stenosis, and while it can be very difficult to detect early stages of plaque accumulation, stenosis is dangerous because it limits blood flow to the brain. Without the necessary blood, the brain lacks oxygen, and the patient experiences a stroke.
In healthy patients, an elevated heart rate increases and stabilizes the drag force blood exerts on the vessel wall, reducing stenosis risk. But for patients already experiencing stenosis, it may not be as beneficial.
The authors used a specialized computational model to simulate blood flow in carotid arteries at three stages of stenosis: without blockage, with a mild 30% blockage, and with a moderate 50% blockage. They compared the effect of an exercise-induced heart rate, 140 beats per minute, and resting heart rates of 67 and 100 bpm.
As expected, for healthy and mild cases, the exercise condition improved the health of the simulated carotid. However, the results for moderate blockage were concerning.
"Intense exercise shows adverse effects on patients with moderate or higher stenosis levels," said author Somnath Roy. "It substantially increases the shear stress at the stenosis zone, which may cause the stenosis to rupture. This ruptured plaque may then flow to the brain and its blood supply, causing ischemic stroke."
Additionally, an elevated heart rate could increase the likelihood of another stenosis forming.
Many factors contribute to stenosis and stroke risk, including age, lifestyle, and genetics, but the authors recommend checking arterial health regularly for people doing intense workouts. They also recommend a carefully prescribed exercise regimen for people with moderate to severe stenosis or with a history of strokes.
The article, "Effect of heart rate on the hemodynamics in healthy and stenosed carotid arteries," authored by Piru Mohan Khan, Siddharth D. Sharma, Suman Chakraborty, and Somnath Roy is published in Physics of Fluids .
More information: Piru Mohan Khan et al, Effect of heart rate on the hemodynamics in healthy and stenosed carotid arteries, Physics of Fluids (2023). DOI: 10.1063/5.0153323
Citation: Exercise may induce strokes for people with blocked arteries (2023, June 20) retrieved 30 June 2023 from https://medicalxpress.Com/news/2023-06-people-blocked-arteries.Html
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Femoral Artery
Spanning from the groin to the leg and stopping at the knee is the femoral artery. This artery carries oxygen-rich blood to each of your legs. The health of the femoral artery determines the health of lower body tissues.
Femoral artery… Odds are you've heard of this big, bad blood transporter.
But unless you're a cardiologist, you probably couldn't explain what the femoral artery does or where it's located. No dig intended — with over 30 combined veins and arteries in the body, you're more than forgiven for not knowing the stats on a specific one.
This handy explainer is here to answer all your femoral artery questions. Read on for an in-depth look at all things femoral artery.
The femoral artery originates just beneath the surface of the crease in your groin and extends down each leg, explains cardiothoracic surgeon Steven Gundry, MD, founder and director of the International Heart and Lung Institute in Palm Springs, California, and author of "The Energy Paradox: What to Do When Your Get-Up-and-Go Has Got Up and Gone."
Its primary purpose? To carry oxygenated blood to each of your legs.
As a refresher: There's oxygenated blood (red blood) and deoxygenated blood (blue blood).
Oxygenated blood is rich in, well, oxygen and nutrients like glucose, amino acids, and vitamins that act as "food" for your tissues. Deoxygenated blood, on the other hand, is made up of bodily waste.
Meaning, the femoral artery's main role is to carry fuel to the tissues in the lower body.
Put simply, the femoral artery originates in the groin and runs down each leg, stopping right around the knee. (At the knee, the femoral artery becomes the popliteal artery).
If you want to feel your femoral artery working, Gundry says there's a little trick you can try.
Ready? Use your thumb and forefinger to pinch just inside of your hip bone. Run your fingers up and down that area.
According to Gundry, you'll eventually be able to feel a place that's thrumming. "That's the feel of your pulse going to your femoral artery," he explains.
Anatomically speaking, the femoral artery sits right next to the femoral vein, says Gundry. The femoral vein is in charge of carrying deoxygenated blood from the legs back toward the heart, he says.
Also near the femoral artery is one of the major nerves to the leg: the femoral nerve. "The femoral nerve runs near the femoral artery, carrying information to and from the spinal cord and brain to some of the skin and muscles of the leg," he explains.
The femoral artery crosses the femoral vein and femoral nerve in such a way as to form a triangle near the groin region. This portion is known as the "femoral triangle" or "Scarpa's triangle."
It serves as a crucial anatomical landmark for surgeons when surgery needs to be performed in the region. Basically, this spot is to surgeons what a lighthouse is to sailors.
There are also multiple lymph nodes and lymph vessels all contained within this general area.
"All these structures (the femoral artery, the femoral vein, the femoral nerve, and the surrounding lymph nodes and lymph vessels) are wrapped in the femoral sheath," notes Gundry.
"The main purpose of the femoral artery is to carry oxygenated blood to the lower part of the body so that this part of the body can get the nutrients it needs for health," says Gundry.
This artery branches off into 6 smaller arteries, each of which is in charge of bringing blood to a different body part.
These smaller arteries include:
Oh, and fun fact: Embalmers also use the femoral artery to supply chemicals to the body to preserve it after death. The more you know!
Good question! Like other arteries in the body, the femoral artery can be a site of plaque buildup, blood clots, or aneurysms.
"The femoral artery is often a site of atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of plaque that can cause blockage or slowing of blood flow to the muscles of the leg," explains Gundry.
Many people don't experience symptoms with atherosclerosis and don't know that they've developed the condition unless they experience a heart attack or stroke.
If someone does experience symptoms, however, they usually include:
The femoral artery can also lead to a phenomenon called intermittent claudication, adds Gundry.
"This is a condition marked by pain or cramping in legs or calf muscles when walking that subsides if someone stops and rests for a few minutes but returns again when walking," he says.
If this sounds familiar, he recommends talking with a healthcare professional. "This is a telltale sign of poor blood flow in the femoral artery," he says.
The femoral artery plays an important role in the health of your lower body tissues.
So do your health a favor and prioritize the health of your femoral artery — and the health of your other blood sources — by limiting alcohol intake and drug use, creating a movement practice, eating a well-balanced diet, and talking to a professional if you notice anything off with your body.
Gabrielle Kassel (she/her) is a queer sex educator and wellness journalist who is committed to helping people feel the best they can in their bodies. In addition to Healthline, her work has appeared in publications such as Shape, Cosmopolitan, Well+Good, Health, Self, Women's Health, Greatist, and more! In her free time, Gabrielle can be found coaching CrossFit, reviewing pleasure products, hiking with her border collie, or recording episodes of the podcast she co-hosts called Bad In Bed. Follow her on Instagram @Gabriellekassel.
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