Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is the reduction of blood supply to the limbs due to the hardening of the arteries, leading to a reduction of blood flow to the limbs. It mainly affects the arteries rather than veins. This results in atherosclerosis, a buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries that may restrict blood flow. In the early stages of PVD, insufficient blood flow may cause no signs or symptoms. However, in many people, symptoms may be distressing. PVD can occur in any blood vessel outside of the heart, including the arteries, veins, or lymphatic vessels. However, it is overwhelmingly the legs that are affected. Peripheral vascular disease affects blood circulation, especially in the legs and feet.
The arterial blood vessels of the body carry oxygenated blood pumped outwards from the heart to the rest of the body. These vessels are elastic and have smooth walls that allow unimpeded flow. However, due to the accumulation of cholesterol or fatty deposits on the inner artery walls that restrict blood flow, cholesterol and other blood cells mix together and create a blood clot. These clots can either partially or completely block blood flow, resulting in the slowing down of the flow of blood to peripheral arteries.
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD): Causes and Symptoms
Peripheral artery disease is a condition where arteries narrow, reducing blood flow to the limbs. Accumulation of plaque in the arteries, primarily affecting the lower extremities. In addition to lifestyle modification and drug therapy, the Vascular and Interventional Centre has combined minimally invasive treatment options for PAD to provide patients with long-lasting relief from leg pain while improving their overall quality of life. When an artery becomes blocked for any reason, the lack of blood flow may cause serious tissue damage, ultimately leading to amputation. The risk for this occurrence can be minimized by utilizing silver bullet technology, which is available at the center. Specially designed stents are railroaded into the femoral artery, removing the clot, plaque, and any other debris. This restores blood flow through a once-blocked artery, harnessing the time which leads to the decrease in the statistics of amputation. Restoring blood flow is vital and key to successfully treating limping, cramping, and other conditions associated with Peripheral Artery Disease. The Vascular and Interventional Centre uses minimally invasive treatments for venous insufficiency. Treatments are performed in an office setting, taking only minutes, allowing patients to return to their regular activities immediately.
If you are experiencing any symptoms of PAD, please do not wait to schedule an appointment with specialists today. Research of PAD has shown that 1 out of 9 people 65 years old suffers from this condition, and a majority of people with PAD are asymptomatic and do not experience any of the symptoms. It is estimated that there may be as many as 10,000,000 Americans who are affected by PAD but are unaware of its presence in their body. What is PAD? Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is an accumulation of plaque in the arteries, primarily in the arteries of the lower extremities. The plaque is made up of cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. These buildups are due to atherosclerosis, which narrows and blocks the peripheral arteries, causing symptoms of poor circulation in the body’s extremities like legs, feet, arms, and hands. Although the process of accumulation is commonly called hardening of the arteries, it is not a normal process of aging. PAD is just one manifestation of the kind of damage.
The plaque slows down the process of blood flow, reducing the amount of oxygen and nutrients delivered to the body’s extremities. When arteries become clogged or blocked, muscle pain (claudication) occurs in the affected limb, impeding blood circulation. Many people mistakenly think that PAD is simply a disease of the legs and do not realize it is a narrowing and clogging of the arteries in other areas of the body. The Vascular and Interventional Centre is designed to break the cycle between a rhythm of life, wounds, hospitalization, and healing of PAD. Minimally invasive treatment options for PAD are performed on an outpatient basis. This means patients will be able to return home the same day as their treatment. Recovery is short and minimal after treatment, likened to traditional surgery. Pain and discomfort are reduced, peripheral circulation is restored, and patients experience immediate relief of their pain and discomfort. Peripheral arterial disease treatment may include lifestyle changes, medication, or surgery.
Innovative Treatments for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Peripheral arterial disease, known as PAD, is a chronic problem where there is a build-up of fatty deposits in the walls of arteries supplying the lower extremity. This build-up occurs over many years and causes the narrowing and hardening of the blood vessels. This process is called atherosclerosis. When the arteries are narrowed, oxygen to muscles is restricted, and when there is no oxygen, muscles complain either cramps or pain. Untreated, those muscles can become permanently diseased or die. The symptoms are mostly seen in the legs and referred to as intermittent claudication. Early in the condition, the symptoms will get resolved with rest but progress to people could not walk and present leg pain at rest with the worsening of the condition. Both conditions could lead to wounds in the legs without healing, causing gangrene and amputation of the limb.
As the condition limits mobility, adversely affecting the quality of life, it should not be ignored or just lived with. Moreover, the treatment can save the limb. The main treatment modalities are lifestyle improvement, medication, exercise, endovascular intervention, and surgery. First, the patient should stop smoking (if you smoke), control high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol. This will delay the worsening of the disease. Then movement should be adopted as a medicine to the disease. Building up a walking program gradually will improve leg pain to get relieved with minimal discomfort. Medications can also be taken to open the narrowed arteries or keep them open for longer by thinning the blood (as the chance of clotting is more in the narrowed arteries filled with blood).
Invasive treatment techniques are seen only for a few decades. Initially, balloon dilatation was used for the vasospastic condition of the artery. This separates the cells causing the spasm, and the result is arterial dilation, which is the purpose of the PAD treatment. Later, though this method was adopted to treat narrower arteries, but due to the harshness of the balloon to the cells of the plaques inside the artery, ruptures and tears of the inner lining of the artery walls continued until the use of stents. The goal of balloon dilatation is to treat the underlying plaque, wide lumen to the arteries, and healthy blood flow through these veins. Balloon dilatation is done under x-ray control in a sterile room by a specialist, either an interventional radiologist or a vascular surgeon. After the balloon dilatation, a stent could be deployed to the treated artery for artery integrity.
