With mild functional restriction there are normally no disabling effects which are significant enough to lead to care or mobility needs.

A person with mild functional restriction would normally be able to manage to walk more than two hundred metres at a normal or slightly slower pace.

He/she would normally be able to get around in an unfamiliar place without assistance. The person should be encouraged to walk to build up a collateral circulation. Their mobility depends on their lifestyle.

A person with mild functional restriction would normally be able to cope with all activities of self-care such as getting in or out of a bed or chair unaided, getting on & off the toilet, washing, bathing, dressing him/herself and preparing and cooking a meal. He/she should be able to get about indoors satisfactorily, bend to get food in or out of an oven and self-medicate.

He/she would still normally be able to climb stairs unaided, though he/she may have some calf pain on reaching the top. There would be no supervisory needs.

With moderate functional restriction there are normally no disabling effects, which are significant enough to lead to care needs. There will however be a significant restriction of walking ability as the claudication distance will be quite short. These persons may be on a waiting list for surgery, which if successful, normally greatly improves mobility.

A person with moderate functional restriction would normally only be able to walk a distance of more than 50 metres and less than 100 metres at a slightly slower pace than usual. After a rest he/she can resume walking and manage the same distance as before (this will be constant; it is the claudication distance). The recovery time can be quite variable. He/she would normally be able to get around in an unfamiliar place without assistance.

A person with moderate functional restriction would normally be able to cope with all activities of self-care such as getting in or out of a bed or chair unaided, getting on & off the toilet, washing, bathing, dressing him/herself and preparing and cooking a meal. He/she should normally still be able to bend to get food in or out of an oven and self-medicate.

He/she would still normally be able to get about indoors and climb stairs unaided, though he/she may have to stop on the way up and at the top of the stairs. There would be no supervisory needs.

A person with severe functional restriction may have severe diffuse disease which is not amenable to surgery, or be on the waiting list for surgery, because of the extent of the narrowing of the artery/arteries.

They are likely to suffer from rest pain and may have ulceration of the skin of the foot or leg. They may be about to lose a limb or may have lost a limb and would normally have considerable mobility needs and significant care needs.

A person with severe functional restriction may have one or both limbs amputated and may be wheelchair or bed bound or alternatively may have a prosthetic limb. They may be on the waiting list for surgery and would range from having intermittent rest pain to severe and constant rest pain. He/she would normally, if mobile be only able to walk a few steps at a slow pace, (certainly less than 25 metres), or may not be capable of walking at all. Even a distance of 25 metres can be severely disabling, because of recovery time.

However, there are not likely to be any supervisory needs outdoors.

A person with severe functional restriction would normally need assistance with most aspects of self-care, such as getting in and out of bed or out of a chair, getting on and off the toilet, bathing or showering. He/she may not be able to get about unaided in or out of doors.

Preparation of a meal may not be possible because he/she may not be able to safely manage hot pans and would be unlikely to be able to bend to an oven satisfactorily. He/she would normally be able to take medication safely.

He/she would not be able to manage stairs. At night, he/she may need assistance to change position in bed and to get comfortable. He/she would need help normally in getting out of bed in the night and to get on and off the toilet. However, a bottle could be used instead. The person may be bed bound or chair bound because of greatly reduced mobility. He/she may already have an amputation to one or both legs.

The person normally does not require supervision for any aspect of daily living but would normally need to be very careful not to injure their lower limbs because any injuries would be likely to take a very long time to heal or lead to ulceration.