Guide To The Causes And Risk Factors For Peripheral Vascular Disease

Stress

Peripheral vascular disease is more likely to develop in an individual who experiences chronic high levels of stress. When an individual experiences stress, the body responds with what is known as the stress response. The stress reaction includes an influx of hormones that are meant to prepare the body for a fight or flight response. These hormones increase the individual's breathing rate, heart rate, blood pressure, and cause glucose to be released back into the blood as a quick source of energy for the muscle cells. This mechanism works well when an individual is facing an actual source of danger. However, those exposed to stressful situations regularly have this stress response activated repetitively. After a long duration of constant stress responses in the individual's body, they become hypersensitive to mildly stressful situations. This mechanism causes long-term high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and an increased workload on the heart. All these factors increase an individual's risk of developing atherosclerosis and subsequent peripheral vascular disease.

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Diabetes

A diabetes patient may develop peripheral vascular disease as a complication of their disease. Diabetes is a metabolic disease where an individual's body is unable to make enough insulin or their body is not responsive to the insulin their body does produce. Insulin is a hormone required for the body to regulate its blood sugar levels. Individuals who have diabetes require careful management with medication, diet, and exercise to keep their blood sugar at a safe and homeostatic level. Individuals who have poorly managed diabetes develop long-term hypertension and are at a higher risk of developing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. High blood sugar is known to cause inflammation around the body, and this can exacerbate any mild damage that has already been inflicted on the arteries that supply the legs with oxygenated blood. More inflammation causes fatty substances to calcify and harden at a faster rate in the affected arteries. The plaque that builds up as a result of this mechanism is what makes a diabetes patient at an increased risk of developing peripheral vascular disease.

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