Sök artiklar i SveMed+

Tidskrift

Sammanfattning

Intermittent claudication (IC) is defined as an arteriosclerotic disease of the legs and there are several differential diagnoses. Anaemia is a condition which can cause symptoms most often attributed to IC; this is rarely acknowledged. The two cases presented here describe complete relief of symptoms after treatment of anemia due to iron deficiency in one young and one old woman (37 and 92 yrs old, respectively). Both had apparently healthy arterial circulation in the legs during rest (ankle-brachial index > 0.94). Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) revealed normal arteries in the abdomen and both legs of the young woman approximately three years after diagnosis. More than a year after diagnosis of the older woman, MRA revealed preliminary signs of stenoses in both internal iliac arteries and established stenoses in the left superficial femoral artery. There was no claudication or anemia in either patient at the time. Anemia should be considered an important differential diagnosis of IC in patients, both with healthy and arteriosclerotic arteries.

MeSH