A nursing instructor breaks down peripheral artery disease using three steps: arteries narrow from plaque and high blood pressure, tissues don't get enough oxygen, and leg pain and weak pulses follow. PAD affects arteries carrying blood away from the heart, unlike venous disease which affects the return path.
In this video, we are going to talk about the pathophysiology of peripheral artery disease, which is also called pad. I will put this into three simple steps for you to follow so you can understand the pathophysiology quickly and be able to critically think about it for your nursing school exams. Let's dive in. So, real quick, I wanted to let you know about a free study cheat sheet that I have for you to help you pass nursing school. It is also awesome. It will walk you through how to study in nursing school step by step so that you can be more prepared for your nursing school exams. I will put the link in the description down below for you to snag that it's going to help you so, so much. Now let's dive into the patho of pad. Now in pad, the blood vessels in the periphery of the body are narrowed. They're not letting enough blood flow through, which can lead to ischemia, tissue death. As the name suggests, peripheral artery disease happens in the extremities in the periphery of the body, but it usually happens in the legs. Peripheral artery disease affects the arteries that move blood away from the heart. So PED happens and the arteries that are taking blood from the heart to the rest of the body. And this is why it can become such a problem. Because when the blood flow from the heart to the extremities is decreased, the tissues in the legs, they're not getting enough oxygen and nutrients that they need to keep functioning, which can cause tissue death, major problems. Peripheral artery disease also has a counterpart, a buddy, which is called peripheral venous disease or pvd. In pvd, it's the veins that are affected, the blood vessels that bring blood from the body back up to the heart. And both of these fall into the category of peripheral vascular disease, which is just a big fancy name for it. There's a problem with the blood vessels and we need to fix fix it. We'll talk about peripheral venous disease in a future video, but for now I want to give you a quick high level overview so you understand how to tell the difference between the two of these. There's three things you should be thinking about when you are studying peripheral artery disease in nursing school. You need to be thinking about what direction the blood is flowing, where it's supposed to be going to, and where the blood is going instead. These three questions will help you think through PAD and PVD and help you determine which one is which. Okay, so let's walk through that for pad. So in peripheral arterial disease, the blood is Supposed to be flowing away from the heart and it's supposed to be taking blood to the rest of the body. But instead the heart is going to have a hard time pumping the blood out of the heart and into those arteries because they are so narrowed. Now, for pvd, the problem isn't the arteries, it's the veins which moves blood from the extremities towards the heart. And like I said, we'll do a deep dive on that in a future video, so be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on that one. Peripheral artery disease can happen with anything that occludes blood flow in the arms or legs. Like atherosclerosis and the buildup of plaques, which is the most common cause of this. Plaques, they build up along the blood vessels and they decrease or cut off blood flow completely. As we age, our blood vessels get more and more stiff, which can cause narrowing. That is considered part of aging of the blood vessels since they they don't dilate as normally would chronic hypertension, which places a huge stress on the vessels over time. That can also cause narrowing which increases the risk of developing pad. So let's walk through exactly what happens with peripheral artery disease. You know, I always like to put pathophysiology into clear steps for you to follow so that you can learn it faster and easier. This is exactly how we teach inside the nursing SOS membership community and I think it just helps students so, so so much because you can better really visualize what's happening and critically think about it for your exam. So if you like me putting patho into simple steps for you to follow, write love in the comments below to let me know that it's helpful for you. Okay, I want your feedback. So let's break down the pathophysiology of PAD into three simple steps. In step number one, there is a gradual or a sudden narrowing of the blood vessel. In cases like atherosclerosis, like we talked about, the number one caus, this process can take years where the blood vessels slowly become occluded with plaque buildup. And over time the blood just can't flow through the blood vessels as easily, which is now step number two. Now, the body tissues, they need blood to function right since blood delivers oxygen and nutrients. But when that blood flow is cut off, the tissues won't be able to function like they normally would. This is where you start to see ischemia or a lack of blood flow to the tissues, which is then step number three. Three, when blood flow is cut off or decreased ischemia or tissue death can start to happen. So remember, blood is the lifeline to the body. And when blood flow stops, the tissues stop functioning. And in peripheral artery disease, blood flow is cut off to the tissues in the periphery of the body. And so those tissues, they won't be able to function as well. The more the blood flow is cut off or decreased, and for the longer that that occurs, for the more damage there's going to be to those tissues and then the surrounding organs. And that's really where you start to see the classic signs and symptoms of pd. Things like pain in the legs, numbness or weakness in the legs, and decreased pulses in the feet. When there's decreased blood flow to that area, the tissues are damaged and it causes a lot of problems. Now, if you're stressed about studying for nursing school right now and you are kind of freaking out about your exams, I get it and I've got you. Click on this video here to find out my top tips for passing your nursing school exams. And go become the nurse that God created only you to be. And I'll see you over there in that next video. You're going to do fantastic, my friend.
