Key Symptoms Of Peripheral Vascular Disease

Cold Legs And Feet

When a healthy individual enters into a cold environment, the body implements a mechanism to help conserve heat in the body. The mechanism causes the small blood vessels in the legs and feet to constrict or become narrowed. When the small blood vessels closest to the skin become constricted, the body loses less heat overall. However, the feet and legs will feel cold to the touch when such heat-conserving mechanisms are activated in the body. An individual with peripheral vascular disease, however, experiences the same manifestations of a healthy person in a cold environment, even when they are in a warm environment. Peripheral vascular disease causes the vessels in the limbs to become narrowed, much like they do when they constrict in cool temperatures. This narrowing of the blood vessels causes the feet and legs to feel cold to the touch because there is less blood flowing to the surface of the skin.

Read more about the warning signs associated with peripheral vascular disease now.