Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Ischemia?CausesTypesIschemia TreatmentPreventing Ischemia
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is Ischemia?
Causes
Types
Ischemia Treatment
Preventing Ischemia
Examples of ischemia include cardiac, brain, intestinal, and limb ischemia. Ischemia is a serious condition that can lead to life-threatening problems like heart attack and stroke.
ljubaphoto / Getty Images
When a part of the body is ischemic, it is not receiving all the oxygen and nutrients it needs. Ischemia usually causes an affected organ to malfunction, and it often produces symptoms.
If the ischemia becomes severe enough or persists long enough, the cells of the affected area may begin to die.The death of all or part of an ischemic organ is called an infarction.
Ischemia can be diagnosed with certain tests that look at how blood flows to different parts of your body. Some scans look at specific organs, like your heart or brain. CT scans, ultrasounds,angiograms, and other imaging tests are commonly used.If you’re being tested for cardiac ischemia, you might do anexercise stress testto see how the blood flow is to your heart when you’re active.
Why Does Ischemia Happen?
The cause of ischemia can be related to the specific part of the body that’s affected, but there are also some general risk factors that apply more broadly, such as:
Types of Ischemia
Ischemia can affect different parts of the body, leading to various complications.
Cardiac Ischemia
Ischemia can affect the heart. When this happens, it’s called cardiac ischemia.
Other symptoms of cardiac ischemia may include:
Brain Ischemia
Unlike many other organs, the brain has no energy stores of its own and is completely dependent on continuous blood flow to do its work. Consequently, brain tissue rapidly becomes ischemic if blood flow is interrupted. Unless the blood flow is rapidly restored, brain death quickly occurs.
The death of brain tissue is called astroke. Symptoms may include:
Sometimes the blood flow to a portion of the brain is interrupted long enough to produce symptoms of brain ischemia, but not long enough to produce an actual stroke. This condition is called atransient ischemic attack(TIA).
Intestinal Ischemia
Ischemia in the gastrointestinal tract is calledintestinal ischemiaor mesenteric ischemia. This type of ischemia occurs in the blood vessels supplying the intestinal organs.
Symptoms of intestinal angina includepain in the upper abdomenthat may radiate to the back. Intestinal angina usually persists for about two to three hours, but then consistently returns after another meal.
Acute intestinal ischemia may occur when anembolism(blood clot) lodges in the intestinal arteries. These blood clots most commonly originate in the heart, as a result ofatrial fibrillation. If theembolismis severe enough, intestinal infarction (death of a portion of the intestine) can result. Intestinal infarction is a medical emergency.
Limb Ischemia
Ischemia that involves your arms or legs is called limb ischemia. This type of ischemia is common in people withperipheral artery disease (PAD), a form of atherosclerosis that affects the arteries supplying the arms or legs (most typically, the legs).Critical limb ischemiadescribes a severe blockage of arteries in the lower limbs.
The most common syndrome seen with limb ischemia is intermittent claudication, a type of cramping pain, usually affecting one leg, that occurs reproducibly after a fixed amount of walking.
Symptoms can include:
Ischemia is treated depending on its cause and where it is found in the body. For example, cardiac ischemia is often treated with medications that help improve blood flow to the heart, such as:
Stroke is usually treated with a medication called a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) that helps break apart the blockage.
Can ischemia be cured?In most cases treatments are aimed at improving blood flow. When successful, these treatments can often completely eliminate ischemia.
Can ischemia be cured?
In most cases treatments are aimed at improving blood flow. When successful, these treatments can often completely eliminate ischemia.
You can’t always prevent ischemia, but many of the things you might do for your overall health—like staying active, eating a nutritious diet, managing your weight, and not using tobacco—can help lower your risk.
Summary
Ischemia is a condition that happens when the blood supply to a part of the body is cut off. Ischemia can happen to your heart, limbs, gastrointestinal tract, and even your legs.
Your risk for ischemia might be higher if you have certain health conditions or lifestyle factors, but you can’t always prevent ischemia from happening.
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Pepine CJ.Multiple causes for ischemia without obstructive coronary artery disease: not a short list.Circulation. 2015;131(12):1044–1046. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015553
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Mesenteric ischemia.
Sirover MA.Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH: Moonlighting GAPDH and ischemia. Elsevier ScienceDirect.
NYU Langone Health.Diagnosing mesenteric ischemia.
Texas Heart Institute.Silent ischemia.
National Institutes of Health: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.What is coronary heart disease?
Ogata S, Marume K, Nakai M, et al.Incidence rate of acute coronary syndrome including acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, and sudden cardiac death in Nobeoka City for the super-aged society of Japan.Circ J. 2021;85(10):1722-1730. doi:10.1253/circj.CJ-20-1207
Sweeney MD, Zhao Z, Montagne A, Nelson AR, Zlokovic BV.Blood-brain barrier: From physiology to disease and back.Physiol Rev. 2019;99(1):21-78. doi:10.1152/physrev.00050.2017
Society for Neuroscience: BrainFacts.org.How much energy does the brain use?
Harvard Medical School: Harvard Health Publishing.Angina in the intestines mirrors what happens in the heart.
Uccioli L, Meloni M, Izzo V, Giurato L, Merolla S, Gandini R.Critical limb ischemia: current challenges and future prospects.Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2018;14:63–74. doi:10.2147/VHRM.S125065
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Stroke treatment.
Yi, Wang, Jin.Reversible myocardial ischemia.Cardiac CT.Springer Singapore; 2020:1-8.
Anderson JL, Halperin JL, Albert NM, et al.Management of patients with peripheral artery disease (compilation of 2005 and 2011 ACCF/AHA guideline recommendations): a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines.Circulation. 2013;127(13):1425–1443. doi:10.1161/CIR.0b013e31828b82aaEaston JD, Saver JL, Albers GW, et al.Definition and evaluation of transient ischemic attack: a scientific statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Stroke Council; Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia; Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention; Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; and the Interdisciplinary Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease. The American Academy of Neurology affirms the value of this statement as an educational tool for neurologists.Stroke. 2009;40(6):2276–2293. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.108.192218Vascular Disease Foundation.Focus on ischemia.
Anderson JL, Halperin JL, Albert NM, et al.Management of patients with peripheral artery disease (compilation of 2005 and 2011 ACCF/AHA guideline recommendations): a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines.Circulation. 2013;127(13):1425–1443. doi:10.1161/CIR.0b013e31828b82aa
Easton JD, Saver JL, Albers GW, et al.Definition and evaluation of transient ischemic attack: a scientific statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Stroke Council; Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia; Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention; Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; and the Interdisciplinary Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease. The American Academy of Neurology affirms the value of this statement as an educational tool for neurologists.Stroke. 2009;40(6):2276–2293. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.108.192218
Vascular Disease Foundation.Focus on ischemia.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
