What is the most common cause of arterial occlusive disease?

Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of chronic arterial occlusive disease of the lower extremities. The arterial narrowing or obstruction that occurs as a result of the atherosclerotic process reduces blood flow to the lower limb during exercise or at rest.

What is the meaning of occlusive arterial disease?

Arterial occlusive disease is a condition in which the arteries throughout the body gradually become narrowed. It can affect arms and legs. Often, patients who suffer from lower extremity arterial occlusive disease also have other conditions, such as carotid artery disease and heart disease.

What is ulnar artery occlusion?

Answer. Thrombosis of the ulnar artery in the Guyon canal can occur as a consequence of direct trauma. Patients with ulnar artery thrombosis at the wrist may present with pain at night or with repetitive activity and cold intolerance. Exquisite tenderness is present at the site of pathology.

What is an early symptom of arterial occlusive disease?

Pain in the calves or thighs while walking is the most common symptom of lower extremity occlusive disease. Some people may also experience numbness, weakness, or cold in the feet or legs. As the disease progresses, pain may also be felt at rest in the toes and ulcers may develop.

How serious is an occlusion?

Acute arterial occlusion is serious. It occurs when blood flow in a leg artery stops suddenly. If blood flow to your toe, foot, or leg is completely blocked, the tissue begins to die. This is called gangrene.

Which symptom is noted with occlusive arterial disease?

Sudden, complete blockage of an artery in a leg or an arm may cause severe pain, coldness, and numbness in the affected limb. The person’s leg or arm is either pale or bluish (cyanotic). No pulse can be felt below the blockage. The sudden, drastic decrease in blood flow to the limb is a medical emergency.

What happens when an artery is occluded?

An occlusion is a complete or partial blockage of a blood vessel. While occlusions can happen in both veins and arteries, the more serious ones occur in the arteries. An occlusion can reduce or even stop the flow of oxygen-rich blood to downstream vital tissues like the heart, brain, or extremities.

Where is the ulnar artery located?

forearm
The ulnar artery, along with the radial artery, is responsible for the arterial supply to the forearm and hand. The ulnar artery arises in the cubital fossa and traverses through the medial (ulnar) side of the forearm and ends within the medial portion of the hand as the superficial palmar arch.

How is radial artery occlusion treated?

Once radial artery occlusion is confirmed by ultrasound, another treatment option is administration of systemic anticoagulation, such as low-molecular-weight heparin for 4 weeks. Low-molecular-weight heparin treatment increases the patency rate of the radial artery up to 86% after 4 weeks of treatment.

How do you treat an artery occlusion?

Central retinal artery occlusion needs prompt medical attention. Treatment choices include fluid release, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and clot-busting medicines. None of these treatments are proven to be helpful for all patients.

What is the function of ulnar artery?

The ulnar artery supplies the periarticular anastomoses of the elbow via the anterior and posterior ulnar recurrent arteries. It also supplies the medial and central forearm muscles, the median and ulnar nerves, and the common flexor sheath 1.

Is the ulnar artery a major artery?

The posterior, lateral, and medial walls of the carpal tunnel are made of small proximal carpal bones that form an arch through which the median nerve and long flexor tendons pass from the forearm to the digits of the hand. The ulnar artery is often the major blood supply to the medial three and one-half digits.