cause pain in the legs while walking (called claudication).
Imagine walking – pain free! If you felt pain in your chest, you
wouldn’t ignore it—right? But if you felt pain in your legs, you
might put off asking your doctor about it. That could be a
serious mistake, because leg pain isn’t always due to muscle
strain. It could be due to peripheral arterial PAD occurs when
the arteries that carry blood to the arms or legs become
narrowed or clogged with plaque—the same plaque that causes
coronary (heart) artery disease. As the plaque increases in the
arteries, blood flow decreases. This lack of blood flow for
periods of time can "Most patients describe the discomfort as a
tightness, fatigue or ache in the calf muscles, thighs or
buttocks," says cardiologist Robert Fishman, MD, Chairman of the
Board of the Vascular Institute at Bridgeport Hospital. "The
pain is typically predictable—it comes on after walking a
certain distance, and it goes away with rest." "Other symptoms
of PAD include leg numbness, tingling or