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Treatment for Peripheral Vascular Disease



Treatment for peripheral vascular disease has two goals. The first is the management of the symptoms such as leg pain so that normal physical activity can be resumed. The second is to prevent the onset of atherosclerosis. This will lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.

These goals can be accomplished through lifestyle changes in cases that are not too severe. Quitting smoking can greatly lower the risk of complications setting in.

In addition to lifestyle changes, treatment that may be required includes:

• Medication: Medicines are used extensively to treat peripheral vascular disease. Cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins can reduce the risks of heart attack and stroke. Medicines for high blood pressure are given to those people who suffer from hypertension. Diabetics are given medicines to control their blood sugar levels. Peripheral vascular disease results in impaired blood flow and blood clots can lead to serious complications. For this reason medicines to prevent the formation of blood clots form another important part of treatment. Drugs like pentoxifylline and cilostazol can increase blood flow to the limbs and can help when claudication is severe.
• Angioplasty: Angioplasty involves the insertion of a thin hollow tube or catheter through a blood vessel to the diseased area. Once there, an inflatable device situated at the tip of the catheter is inflated, helping to reopen the narrowed blood vessel and flatten the material causing the blockage against the wall. A stent or metal frame may also be inserted to help keep the blood vessel open. Doctors also use this procedure to open up heart arteries.Angioplasty is not a permanent solution for most people and along with stenting is usually used when only a small portion of the vessel is affected. Newer stents come with an attached drug that dissolves in blood and prevents a recurrence of the blockage.
• Atherectomy: This procedure involves the removal of plaque using miniature cutting tools that are inserted through a catheter.
• Surgery: A piece of blood vessel taken from a different part of the anatomy may be grafted to create a bypass around the obstructed portion.
• Thrombolytic Therapy: This procedure is only used in cases of blockages caused by blood clots. It involves the injection of a drug capable of dissolving clots at the blockage to disintegrate it.