Lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans is the manifestation of systemic atherosclerosis in the lower limbs. Atherosclerosis causes plaques to adhere to the arterial wall, protruding into the arterial lumen. As the plaques continue to expand and secondary thrombosis forms, the arteries become narrower, blood flow velocity slows down, and blood flow decreases. When the narrowing reaches a certain degree or even leads to lumen occlusion, a series of symptoms caused by insufficient blood supply occur, including coldness and numbness in the lower limbs, leg muscle spasms, and pain after exercise or even at rest.
To improve recognition of the symptoms of this disease, middle-aged and elderly friends can perform self-diagnosis in the early stages: In the early stage of the disease, patients experience soreness in the calf muscles after walking a certain distance. If the patient rests for a moment, the soreness can be alleviated or disappear, but after walking again for a certain distance, the pain will worsen. This is what is known as "intermittent claudication." This is due to insufficient blood supply to the lower limbs during walking.