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<\/p>\nDr Xand van Tulleken told viewers ‘it can be like a heart attack for your legs’<\/p>\n
01:50, 17 Apr 2026Updated 09:36, 17 Apr 2026<\/p>\n
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Dr Xand van Tulleken told viewers they should \u2018never\u2019 just write leg pain symptoms off(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n
A BBC doctor has given a worrying update for anyone who has woken up in the morning with a pain in the leg. Appearing on BBC<\/a> Morning Live, Dr Xand van Tulleken told viewers they should \u2018never\u2019 just write symptoms off as what happens due to ageing.<\/p>\n Many people get aches and pains, but specific discomfort in the legs should be investigated, he said. Host Helen Skelton said: \u201cWe\u2019re looking at protecting our health now, though. And if you started this morning with a pain in your leg, you\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s thought that one in five people over the age of 60 is living with a blood<\/a> vessel disorder.\u201c Dr Xand said \u201cIt\u2019s really important that no one should ever regard any symptoms they have as just part of getting older. If you have a symptom and you don\u2019t know why you have it, you need to get an explanation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s shortness of breath or pain in your legs. There are lots of different <\/a>causes for pain in your legs, but this morning we\u2019re talking about peripheral arterial disease, which is a sort of intimidating medical term, but really we mean just peripheral, meaning it\u2019s at the outside of your body. It\u2019s in your legs rather than being in your heart or your brain.\u201d<\/p>\n Getting married could save your life, frozen dead man brought back, fruit and veg win Alzheimer’s fight, and scientists find ‘natural Ozempic’ that comes without the annoying side effects – all this and more in our latest science newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n Arterial disease might be the cause – and that\u2019s a condition which can mean there are serious health issues at stake beyond just aching legs. Dr Xand said \u201cArterial disease is the same problems that gives us heart attacks and strokes. Your blood vessels narrow over time. They can calcify, they harden, they clog up with cholesterol, and you are left with a narrower space for blood to flow through and that means that you\u2019re not getting a sufficient blood supply to your legs and that can give you leg pain.<\/p>\n READ MORE: BBC expert gives ‘rule’ on how long you can keep takeaway leftovers<\/a>READ MORE: BBC doctor shares easy ‘pinch’ test for arthritis symptoms<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAnd you can think of it a little bit like in the same way that some people get angina, they get heart pain when they exercise, when they move around. This is a bit like angina for your legs. And sometimes if those blood vessels completely clog off, it can be like a heart attack for your legs.\u201d<\/p>\n The NHS<\/a> says many people with PAD have no symptoms. However, some develop a painful ache in their legs when they walk, which usually disappears after a few minutes\u2019 rest. The medical term for this is \u201cintermittent claudication\u201d.<\/p>\n The pain can affect 1 or both legs, range from mild to severe, and usually goes away after a few minutes when the person rests their legs.<\/p>\n Other symptoms of PAD can include:<\/p>\n hair loss on your legs and feetnumbness or weakness in the legsbrittle, slow-growing toenailsulcers (open sores) on your feet and legs, which do not healchanging skin colour on your legs, such as turning paler than usual or blue \u2013 this may be harder to see on brown and black skinshiny skinin men, erectile dysfunctionthe muscles in your legs shrinking (wasting)<\/p>\n The NHS adds: \u201cThe symptoms of PAD often develop slowly, over time. If your symptoms develop quickly, or get suddenly worse, it could be a sign of a serious problem requiring immediate treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Xand added: \u201cThe quality of the pain is quite specific. I mean, the way that people describe it and it typically wouldn\u2019t be a pain that you\u2019d get when you\u2019re just sitting still, much like angina. It\u2019s the pain that comes from not getting enough oxygen to your muscles. Those blood vessels aren\u2019t working. And so, people tend to describe a kind of deep, heavy ache, like they\u2019re just not, and you can almost feel that thing of just not getting enough.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit like if you\u2019re lifting weights at the gym, if you go beyond your limits, you know, your muscles really start to hurt. It\u2019s a similar thing. The pain is called claudication, but it\u2019s that kind of pain. And typically, if you rest, it\u2019ll go away again. So, that\u2019s the that\u2019s the kind of pain, but there are other changes that you can look for as well.\u201d<\/p>\n He said people might see changes in their legs which could indicate the problem. Dr Xand said: \u201cIf you do look at your legs, you may see some changes if you don\u2019t have a good enough blood supply. So, things like loss of hair on your legs would be an examples. The hair the hair can\u2019t grow anymore because you\u2019re not getting enough nutrients to your leg.<\/p>\n \u201cCold feet, the warm blood from the middle of your body is no longer reaching your feet. Ulcers or cuts are not healing because your immune system carried in your bloodstream is not reaching those and so you\u2019re getting skin breakdown. You\u2019re not getting antibodies and white blood cells and things like that. Changes in skin tone. So, your skin may look kind of mottled and gray as if it\u2019s not getting enough blood. And then your toenails, you may think, I haven\u2019t cut my toenails in a while. Well, are they just simply growing because they\u2019re not getting the nutrients from the bloodstream that they need. So, those are things that might be a clue.\u201d<\/p>\n Tackling the problem<\/p>\n A main cause is smoking, Dr Xand said, and also making sure people get cholesterol, blood pressure<\/a> measured and check if you have diabetes. He said exercise is a good way of trying to improve the situation: \u201cThis may sound a bit a bit paradoxical, may sound like it\u2019s hard to exercise, you\u2019re getting pain when you exercise, but doing some exercise can stimulate the growth of new blood vessels. It can help those blood vessels open up.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will lower your cholesterol. It will lower your blood pressure. It will lower your stress. It will improve your blood sugar. You get so many wins from doing a bit of exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n