Practical Guide about PAD

5 ↪ Practical Guide about Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) 2. What is happening in my legs? Arteries are much more than just tubes transporting oxygen-rich blood. They are sensitive to several elements which can damage them. Damage caused to arteries is called atherosclerosis (Figure 2). Several factors may contribute to the damage. Once the artery wall is damaged, our body tries to repair the damage and a scar is formed. The greater the damage and the longer it persists, the larger the scarring will be. If it grows very large, scarring can even make the artery narrower. When the scar reaches a certain size, it blocks the blood flow and the organs supplied by that artery start to be deprived of oxygen. The speed of scar formation may vary, depending on several factors (see Risk Factors). Generally, it develops over several years. 2 types of blood vessels There are 2 types of blood vessels: arteries and veins . In general, arteries transport oxygen-rich blood to the organs. Veins take oxygen- depleted blood back to the heart and lungs so the cycle can start again (Figure 1). In this guide, we will talk about disease affecting the arteries of the arms and legs. These parts of the body are peripheral to, meaning far from, the heart and lungs, which is why it is called peripheral artery disease. ↳ Figure 2 : Obstruction of a peripheral artery