Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)

Peripheral artery disease is often an early indicator of future heart attack and stroke. Left untreated, it also can lead to limb amputation. But if diagnosed early, it can often be remedied through diet and exercise.
PAD is a restriction of blood flow to the limbs commonly caused by atherosclerosis, the clogging of arteries by sticky, fatty plaques. These plaques can cause blood to clot until an artery is entirely blocked, potentially starving the brain or heart of life-giving oxygen.
Because PAD restricts blood flow to the arms and legs, symptoms include numbness or aching in your muscles, a persistent coolness in your limbs, or a sudden pain while walking or climbing stairs that disappears with rest and cold extremities due to muscles being starved of essential oxygen. 

In advanced cases, patients can have pain in their arms and legs even while resting—pain intense enough to prevent sleep. Injured limbs heal slowly because the flow of nourishing blood is reduced. If left untreated, patients can develop gangrene, which in turn can lead to amputation. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, PAD is the leading cause of leg amputation.
It is important to remember, however, that PAD does not always cause symptoms. In fact, about half of people with the disease experience no symptoms at all.