Ischaemia facts for kids

Ischemia (pronounced: is-KEE-mee-uh) is when a part of your body doesn't get enough blood. Think of blood as a delivery service that brings important things like oxygen and glucose (sugar) to your body's tissues. Tissues need these things to stay alive and work properly.

When there's not enough blood, tissues can't get the oxygen and nutrients they need. This can happen if blood vessels get blocked or squeezed. Ischemia also means that waste products can't be carried away, which is also bad for the tissues. It can be a small problem, or it can be very serious.

What Happens When Tissues Don't Get Enough Blood?

Since blood carries oxygen to every part of your body, not enough blood means your tissues become starved of oxygen. This is very dangerous for important organs.

How Quickly Can Damage Happen?

• Your heart and brain need a lot of oxygen. If they don't get enough blood, they can be permanently damaged in just 3 to 4 minutes!
• Your kidneys also get hurt quickly if blood flow stops.
• Other body parts that don't use as much energy might last a bit longer, but they can still be damaged after about 20 minutes.

Signs of Ischemia in Your Limbs

Doctors often look for six main signs, sometimes called the "six P's," if someone might have ischemia in an arm or leg:

• Pain: The affected limb will hurt a lot.
• Pallor: The skin will look very pale or white.
• Pulseless: You won't be able to feel a pulse in that limb.
• Paresthesia: There might be a strange tingling or "pins and needles" feeling.
• Paralysis: The person might not be able to move the limb.
• Poikilothermia: The limb will feel cold to the touch.

If these signs appear, it's very important to get help right away. Without quick treatment, the tissues can become seriously damaged or even die.

Images for kids

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  This image shows how a heart's function can be improved after a period of not enough blood flow. Curve A shows a heart that struggled after a long period of low blood flow. Curve B shows that if the heart had short, controlled periods of low blood flow (like a warm-up), it recovered much better afterwards.