September is Vascular Disease Awareness Month, making it an important time to talk about something that often gets overlooked: the health of your blood vessels.
Your vascular system—the network of arteries and veins that moves blood throughout your body—plays an essential role in keeping your legs healthy and helping you stay active. When circulation is affected, the symptoms can sometimes be subtle and easy to dismiss as normal aging, fatigue, or simply being on your feet all day.
At McWilliams Vein Center, we believe understanding the signs of vascular disease is an important first step toward getting the care you need.
What Is Vascular Disease?
Vascular disease refers to conditions that affect the blood vessels outside of the heart and brain. These conditions can affect arteries, veins, or both, and they can interfere with the normal flow of blood throughout the body.
Some vascular conditions affect the arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood to the legs. One example is peripheral artery disease (PAD), which occurs when arteries become narrowed or blocked. PAD most commonly affects the legs and can cause symptoms such as pain with walking, numbness, weakness, or a leg or foot that feels colder than the other.
Other vascular conditions affect the veins, which return blood to the heart. Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) occurs when the veins have difficulty efficiently moving blood back toward the heart. This can contribute to symptoms such as leg swelling, heaviness, aching, fatigue, and visible varicose veins.
Vascular disease isn’t always obvious, which is why paying attention to changes in your legs and circulation matters.
Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore
It’s easy to write off leg symptoms as a normal part of getting older or having a busy day. But persistent or worsening symptoms deserve attention.
Talk with your healthcare provider if you experience:
- Persistent leg pain or aching
- Leg heaviness or fatigue
- Swelling in the legs or ankles
- Varicose or spider veins accompanied by symptoms
- Numbness or weakness in your legs
- Pain in your legs when walking that improves with rest
- Skin that appears unusually pale, shiny, or discolored
- A leg or foot that feels unusually cold
- Sores or wounds on the legs or feet that don’t heal
PAD, in particular, can sometimes cause no symptoms at all. According to the CDC, up to 4 in 10 people with PAD have no leg pain, making awareness and appropriate evaluation especially important.
Know the Difference Between Arteries and Veins
Although arterial and venous disease both involve circulation, they aren’t the same thing.
Arterial disease affects the vessels carrying blood to your legs and feet. With PAD, reduced blood flow can cause pain during activity, numbness, weakness, cold feet, or slow-healing wounds.
Venous disease affects the vessels carrying blood back toward your heart. When the veins aren’t working efficiently, blood can pool in the legs, contributing to swelling, aching, heaviness, and varicose veins.
Understanding the difference is important because the appropriate evaluation and treatment depend on the underlying cause of your symptoms.
Who Is at Risk for Vascular Disease?
Vascular disease can affect many different people, but certain factors can increase your risk.
For arterial disease such as PAD, risk factors include:
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Increasing age
- A history of atherosclerosis or cardiovascular disease
The CDC estimates that approximately 6.5 million adults age 40 and older in the United States have PAD.
Venous problems can also be influenced by factors such as age, family history, prolonged standing or sitting, pregnancy, and limited movement.
Blood clots are another important vascular concern. Risk can increase with prolonged immobility, recent surgery or injury, pregnancy, certain chronic illnesses, previous blood clots, and other factors.
Small Steps Can Support Better Vascular Health
While not every vascular condition can be prevented, there are steps you can take to support healthy circulation.
Stay active
Regular physical activity can support cardiovascular and vascular health. For people with PAD, supervised exercise can also improve walking ability and reduce leg symptoms.
Avoid tobacco
Smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and PAD. Quitting smoking can significantly benefit your vascular health.
Manage underlying health conditions
Work with your healthcare provider to manage conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. These conditions can increase your risk for vascular disease.
Keep moving throughout the day
If your work or lifestyle requires long periods of sitting or standing, make movement a regular part of your day. Even short walking breaks can help you avoid staying in one position for extended periods.
Don’t ignore persistent symptoms
Perhaps the most important step is simply paying attention to your body. If leg pain, swelling, heaviness, skin changes, or other symptoms are affecting your everyday life, don’t assume they’re something you simply have to live with.
When Should You Talk to a Doctor?
If you’re experiencing ongoing changes in your legs or circulation, it’s worth discussing them with a healthcare professional. An evaluation can help determine whether your symptoms are related to your veins, arteries, another condition, or something less concerning.
And remember: vascular health isn’t just about how your legs look—it’s about how they feel and function.
At McWilliams Vein Center, we specialize in diagnosing and treating venous conditions and helping patients better understand what’s behind their leg symptoms. If you’ve been experiencing leg heaviness, aching, swelling, varicose veins, or other symptoms that are interfering with your daily life, we’re here to help you take the next step.
A Note About Sudden Symptoms
Some vascular symptoms require urgent medical attention. Sudden swelling, pain, warmth, or discoloration in one leg can be signs of a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Sudden difficulty breathing, chest pain, coughing up blood, rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness, or fainting can be signs of a pulmonary embolism (PE). These symptoms require immediate medical evaluation.
This Vascular Disease Awareness Month, take a moment to listen to your legs. Your circulation matters.