Intermittent Claudication, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Intermittent Claudication, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases
Intermittent claudication is the cramping pain in the leg induced by exercise, typically caused by poor blood circulation in the arteries.
Normal in this disorder is that the person will feel the pain and lazy feeling in the legs when walking.
This becomes better with rest.
It can also be painful at night, but it may help to sit with the legs hanging off the bed.
The feet are pale and cold, and ulcers on the legs normally grow slowly.
If the person smokes and has diabetes and high blood pressure, the risk of narrow blood vessels rises significantly.
Causes
Atherosclerosis, i.e. deposition of cholesterol and fat particles inside the blood vessels, is the main cause.
The blood vessels become narrowed and can become so narrow that they cannot carry adequate blood, and thus too little oxygen.
Atherosclerosis narrows the arteries and makes them stiffer and harder.
That is because the arteries get clogged with clumps of fat, cholesterol and other material, called atherosclerotic plaques.
These plaques can make arteries so narrow that less blood can flow through them.
When the muscles of the legs are not getting enough oxygen, it causes pain, and gradually the weakening of muscles as well.
When the person walks, the increasing oxygen need and pain happens.
By resting, the muscles have a chance to recover and the pain ceases.
Oxygen is the fuel that muscles need to contract.
Other disorders linked with similar symptoms are:
1. Spinal stenosis,
2. Peripheral neuropathy and
3. Certain musculoskeletal conditions.
Risk factors
1. Smoking is the most important
2. Diabetes type 1 and type 2
3. High blood pressure
4. High cholesterol
5. Obesity (a body mass index over 30)
6. Age older than 70 years
7. Age older than 50 years if you also smoke or have diabetes
8. A family history of atherosclerosis
Diagnosis
The disease develops gradually.
Poor blood supply can cause the typical symptoms, primarily pain in the legs when walking.
Tests
1. Checking the pulses in the palms and feet
2. Exercise testing to determine the maximum distance the person can walk without pain
3. Ankle-brachial index to compare the blood pressure in the ankles to the blood pressure in the arms
Diagnosis can be confirmed by ultrasound, MRI
Treatment
The purpose of treatment is to slow down the disease progression and reduce symptoms, prevent gangrene, and to prevent stroke and heart attack.
Treatment of intermittent claudication and peripheral artery disease can help prevent the disease from getting worse and reduce the symptoms.
Lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking and participating in a regular exercise regimen, are often the first steps in treating intermittent claudication
If there is diabetes, proper control of the disease is important to prevent a worsening of the disease
There are no effective drugs against poor circulation in the legs, but medicines are important contributors to halt disease
progression.
It is advised to anyone who can withstand such drugs to use blood-thinning medicines.
The doctor might give aspirin to reduce the chance of blood clots.
He or she might also prescribe other medicines that help keep the blood from clotting, such as clopidogrel, dipyridamole and ticlopidine.
Cilostazol or pentoxifylline tablets may help improve blood flow and reduce the symptoms.
Surgery
Cases of claudication and obstructive artery disease that are more serious may need angioplasty to widen the blood vessel with balloon or a stent.
The doctor may advise bypass surgery using a healthy blood vessel from another part to replace the vessel causing the claudication.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Intermittent Claudication
Chapter 2 Causes
Ch

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: May 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463017326

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Intermittent Claudication,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2019 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Intermittent Claudication, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Intermittent Claudication)

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Intermittent claudication

What is intermittent claudication?

Intermittent claudication is the cramping pain in the leg induced by exercise, typically caused by poor blood circulation in the arteries.

Normal in this disorder is that the person will feel the pain and lazy feeling in the legs when walking.

This becomes better with rest.

It can also be painful at night, but it may help to sit with the legs hanging off the bed.

The feet are pale and cold, and ulcers on the legs normally grow slowly.

2% of the population over 50 years are affected, 3% over 60 years and 20% over 75 years.

Men are affected twice as often as women.

If the person smokes and has diabetes and high blood pressure, the risk of narrow blood vessels rises significantly.

What are the causes of intermittent claudication?

Causes:

Atherosclerosis, i.e. deposition of cholesterol and fat particles inside the blood vessels, is the main cause.

The blood vessels become narrowed and can become so narrow that they cannot carry adequate blood, and thus too little oxygen.

Atherosclerosis narrows the arteries and makes them stiffer and harder.

That is because the arteries get clogged with clumps of fat, cholesterol and other material, called atherosclerotic plaques.

These plaques can make arteries so narrow that less blood can flow through them.

When the muscles of the legs are not getting enough oxygen, it causes pain, and gradually the weakening of muscles as well.

When the person walks, the increasing oxygen need and pain happens.

By resting, the muscles have a chance to recover and the pain ceases.

Oxygen is the fuel that muscles need to contract.

Atherosclerosis is not the only possible cause of the symptoms of claudication.

Other disorders linked with similar symptoms are:

1. Spinal stenosis,

2. Peripheral neuropathy and

3. Certain musculoskeletal conditions.

Risk factors

The risk factors for claudication are the same as those for developing atherosclerosis, such as:

1. Smoking