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Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Risk Factor and Treatment
Peripheral vascular disease results from the progressive narrowing of arteries in the body and occurs secondary to a process known as atherosclerotic vascular disease. Severe untreated peripheral vascular disease can result in gangrene, or tissue death due to an inadequate blood supply.
Another rarer form of peripheral vascular disease, known as Buerger's disease can be referenced separately. Peripheral vascular disease involves, for the most part, the arteries of the lower extremities. The progressive deprivation of oxygen rich blood to the lower extremities results in the symptoms of this disease. A number of definite risk factors have been identified for the development of this disease process.
RISK FACTORS FOR PERIPHERAL VASCULAR DISEASE
1. SMOKING
2. HYPERTENSION
3. DIABETES
4. HIGH BLOOD CHOLESTEROL
5. FAMILY HISTORY OF PERIPHERAL VASCULAR DISEASE
Symptoms of Peripheral Vascular Disease
Common symptoms include cramping pains to the legs that occur most frequently after exercise or activity (claudication). One might also notice the loss of leg hair, coolness of the feet, and diminished or absent pulses. The SUDDEN onset of severe leg pain without provocation, a cold foot, mottling or bluish discoloration to the foot, and absence of pulses indicates an acute vascular occlusion of the diseased artery, requiring IMMEDIATE emergency evaluation and treatment. The untreated vascular occlusion can result in gangrene (tissue death due to inadequate blood supply) of the extremity below the occusion.
Evaluation of Peripheral Vascular Disease
Evaluation will involve history and physical examination, paying attention to presence or absence of pulses in lower extremities. Doppler pulses (that are sensed with an augmented listening device) may be still "heard" when palpable pulses are no longer felt. Angiodynography has offered a noninvasive, painless alternative to documenting flow through arteries in the lower extremities.
Extremity arteriography remains an excellent tool for determining the distribution and severity of disease. The need for emergency surgery can be assessed in the patient with possible total vascular occlusion.
Treatment of Peripheral Vascular Disease
Treatment will include medications to thin the blood and discourage clot formation. Surgical placement of a bypass graft (synthetic blood vessel substitute or vein graft) remains the only curative treatment. Procedures similar to angioplasty in the coronary arteries are starting to be applied by specially trained Radiologists in the treatment of lower extremity peripheral vascular disease. The inflation of a small "balloon tipped" catheter, forces open a diseased (almost closed) blood vessel in the hope of widening its diameter and re-establishing blood flow. The Vascular Surgeon is the expert in the management of these patients.
Self Help:
1. Control risk factors for peripheral vascular disease such as obesity, smoking, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
2. Plan regular exercise/physical activity.
3. Eat a diet that is low in fat and cholesterol.
Hope this article will provide you information about peripheral vascular disease.
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