Cold Feet, Stopped Steps
The most common cause of PAD is atherosclerosis.
Blood pumped from the heart must reach the tips of the legs, but problems begin when plaque accumulates on the inner vessel walls, blocking the path.
Initially, Intermittent Claudication appears, where the calf feels tight and painful during walking or exercise, but since it improves with rest, it is easy to neglect.
However, as the disease progresses, Rest Pain occurs where feet feel cold and painful even when still, and the risk of Gangrene, where wounds do not heal and rot, increases.
This is not just leg pain; it is a red light for systemic vascular health.
BM's Perspective: Will Blood Flow Just by Unblocking Vessels?
BM Korean Internal Medicine Clinic asks, "Why can't blood reach the end?"
Narrowed vessels are just the result; the fundamental cause is the lack of power to push blood and the blood itself being cold and sticky.
From the perspective of Korean Medicine, PAD is a state of Cold Congealing and Blood Stasis (Han-eung-hyeol-eo / 寒凝血瘀) and Qi Deficiency and Blood Stagnation (Gi-heo-hyeol-che / 氣虛血滯).
- Cold Congealing and Blood Stasis (Han-eung-hyeol-eo): A state where cold energy constricts blood vessels and causes blood to clump, blocking flow. Hands and feet are exceptionally cold.
- Qi Deficiency and Blood Stagnation (Gi-heo-hyeol-che): A state where the heart's pumping action and systemic energy (Qi) are weak, failing to forcefully send blood to the periphery.
We look beyond the blocked vessels seen in imaging to see your cold hands/feet and weakened vitality.
This is the essence of peripheral circulatory disorders as viewed by Internal Medicine by Korean Medicine Physicians.
