Arterial occlusion is a condition involving partial or complete blockage of blood flow through an artery. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood to body tissues. An occlusion of arteries disrupts oxygen and blood supply to tissues, leading to ischemia. Depending on the extent of ischemia, symptoms of arterial occlusion range from simple soreness and pain that can be relieved with rest, to a lack of sensation or paralysis that could require amputation.Arterial occlusion can be classified into three types based on etiology: embolism, thrombosis, and atherosclerosis. These three types of occlusion underlie various common conditions, including coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, and pulmonary embolism, which may be prevented by lowering risk factors. With improper prevention or management, these diseases can progress into life-threatening complications of myocardial infarction, gangrene, ischemic stroke, and in severe cases, terminate in brain death or cardiac arrest.Arterial occlusion is diagnosed by exercise testing, ultrasonic duplex testing, and multi-detector coronary tomography angiography. Meanwhile, treatment can vary from surgical interventions such as bypass, endarterectomy, and embolectomy, to blood-thinning medication. Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms of arterial occlusion depend on several factors, including the location, extent, and onset of blockage. Normally, the blockage should affect approximately 70% of the artery for symptoms to become noticeable. Symptoms can be less severe during gradual narrowing, as this allows time for the widening of existing vessels and the formation of new ones (collateral vessels), allowing blood to still reach the area. Symptoms in this case will simply be intermittent claudication.
Sudden narrowing leads to more severe consequences, given the lack of time for collateral vessels to grow. As such, coldness, numbness or even paralysis of the affected body parts may result.The commonest symptom of arterial occlusion is intermittent claudication, which consists of a painful, aching sensation in the affected muscle. This is often provoked with physical activity and relieved with rest. Pain and muscle aching may build up with walking, and accelerate with light jogging or walking uphill. Often, pain is relieved after several minutes of rest. However, affected individuals are limited to short spurts of activity, impairing their quality of life. For severe symptoms, the signs are usually visible and lead to ischemia. The clinical presentation of ischemia consists of the 6 Ps, including pallor, pain, paresthesia, paralysis, pulselessness, and poikilothermia. Affected individuals initially notice a paleness of the affected region and feel severe pain. As the condition worsens, the region appears bluish and numb. In extreme cases, this will give way to paralysis and poikilothermia, possibly requiring amputation of the affected limb. Types of arterial occlusion
Commonly observed types of arterial occlusion include thrombosis, atherosclerosis, and embolism. Embolism
An embolism involves the occlusion of blood vessels by an embolus. Arterial occlusion by an embolus is termed arterial embolism. An embolus is an agent that blocks blood flow by physically obstructing blood vessels. This includes gas bubbles, fatty deposits, amniotic fluid, blood clots, and foreign material. Arterial emboli occasionally detach from primary sites and travel via circulation to occlude secondary arteries, causing multiple ischemic sites.