What Is a Clogged Brachial Artery?

The brachial artery is the distribution channel that carries blood from the shoulder to the elbow. A clogged brachial artery is a form of peripheral artery disease and arm artery disease.

Identification

• The brachial artery is classed in the category known as peripheral arteries that transport blood to the legs, arms and feet. “They are also prone to the same damaging processes that stiffen and clog coronary arteries,” according to The Harvard Medical School’s Family Health Guide.

Significance

• This clogging of the artery is a form of peripheral artery disease usually brought on by the process called atherosclerosis. It is commonly referred to as “hardening of the arteries.”

Time Frame

• Atherosclerosis develops over time. “It's the name of the process in which deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery,” says the American Heart Association.

Effects

• Atherosclerosis eventually hardens into an element called plaque. This blockage restricts blood flow, depriving tissue and organs of necessary oxygen and nutrients. In the brachial artery, this process may be called “arm artery disease.”

Symptoms

• Pain in the arm is one of the first symptoms. “If it becomes more severe, you eventually may develop sores or gangrene in your arm,” according to the Society for Vascular Surgery. “Gangrene is tissue death and occurs when tissues in your body do not receive enough oxygen and blood.”