Early symptoms of an arterial embolism in the arms or legs appear as soon as there is ischemia of the tissue, even before any frank infarction has begun.

[3] The major tissues affected are nerves and muscles, where irreversible damage starts to occur after 4–6 hours of cessation of blood supply.

[4] Skeletal muscle, the major tissue affected, is still relatively resistant to infarction compared to the heart and brain because its ability to rely on anaerobic metabolism by glycogen stored in the cells may supply the muscle tissue long enough for any clot to dissolve, either by intervention or the body's own system for thrombus breakdown.

[3] Oxygen consumption of skeletal muscle is approximately 50 times larger while contracting than in the resting state.

[8] In the legs, below the inguinal ligament, percutaneous aspiration thrombectomy is a rapid and effective way of removing thromboembolic occlusions.

[8] Where there is extensive vascular damage, bypass surgery of the vessels may be necessary to establish other ways to supply the affected parts.