Critical Limb ischaemia (CLI) or Chronic limb threatening ischaemia (CLTI) is the most severe form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) where the patient develops foot pain at night(rest pain), leg ulcers or gangrene. Without Vascular intervention, the patient is at risk of limb loss, even death.
Current international guidelines state that patients with CLI or CLTI should be seen, investigated and receive intervention within 2 weeks of developing rest pain, spotting a leg ulcer or noticing black toes to stand the best chance of avoiding limb amputation.
How to recognise Critical Limb Ischaemia(CLI)
Your leg is at risk of amputation if:
- You have pain/numbness in your foot that wakes you up at night.
- You have to hang your leg out of bed to make the pain better.
- You have had to sleep in a chair at night due to your foot pain.
- You have a leg or foot ulcer/wound that has not healed after 2 weeks.
- You have pain in your calf/thigh muscles walking only a short distance.
- You have a blue or pale foot with any of the above symptoms.
- One of your toes/part of your foot has turned black(gangrene).
- You have any of the above symptoms and Cardio-Vascular System(CVS) risk factors, which are:
- Tobacco smoking
- Diabetes mellitus
- Hypertension
- High Cholesterol
- Coronary/Ischaemic Heart Disease
- Previous strokes/mini-strokes
If you have any of the symptoms and signs along with CVS risk factors, you should see a Vascular Surgeon IMMEDIATELY.
DO NOT DELAY as this could mean the difference between saving or losing your leg.
VASCULAR & ENDOVASCULAR SURGEONS SAVE LEGS.
