Do you have blackened areas on your feet or toes?

If parts of your leg, toe or foot aren’t looking like their normal color or feeling good at all — and haven’t for a while – you should contact a health care professional. You might have gangreneGangrene is dead tissue, caused by poor blood flow to part of your body. Gangrene can occur on the skin or in muscles or organs. Peripheral artery disease is a known cause of gangrene..

Gangrene is one of the most severe symptoms of an advanced form of peripheral artery diseasePeripheral artery disease (PAD) is a disease in which plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to your head, organs, and limbs. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, fibrous tissue, and other substances in the blood. (PADPeripheral Artery Disease, a potentially life threatening disease where plaque, like calcium, builds up along blood vessel walls, narrowing the arteries and reducing blood flow to the legs and feet.) called critical limb ischemiaAlso potentially known as CLI, the most severe and deadly form of peripheral artery disease. (CLI), and it is potentially life-threatening.

Narrowed, hardened arteriesArteries are blood vessels that carry blood to your heart and other parts of your body. resulting from PAD can lead to gangrene in your toes, feet and legs.¹⁹ Restricted or blocked blood flow can kill cells and can cause tissue to die. This is called gangrene, which can cause your skin to dry or shrivel, and the flesh to turn colors — brown to purple to black — and eventually fall off.