Peripheral Vascular Disease

Question: can aspirn disolve blood clots? if i really have peripheral vascular disease? been taking aspirn 325 ( coated ) for 3 days & im pain free after crying for 3 days, & wanted to know can aspirn disolve blood clots on its own? when its ONLY possible i may have minor periphrenal vasculer disease? ive had severe leg cramps & count get up the past month & started aspirn threapy for the last few days? any advice? hints? or tips? i wont get mad.

Answer: The answer is no. Aspirin helps to make the blood "thinner" so that it travels more easily. If you are taking Aspirin and it helps, continue to take it! Glad you are pain free.

Question: Could you please tell me the difference between Chronic Venous Insufficiency and Peripheral Vascular Disease? I was told yesterday by my doctor that I have Chronic Venous Insufficiency which I think I understand. However, I also came across PVD and then became confused. Are they the same?

Answer: chronic venous insufficiency is when your veins cant pump the blood back to your heart (so it pools in your legs). peripheral vascular disease (which common in diabetics or people with high cholesterol) is a problem with the arteries (not veins) that are clogged up (from atherosclerosis) and thus cannot deliver enough blood to the peripheral limbs (such as legs) resulting in symptoms of the pain (intermittent claudication or pain in calves after exertion) or ulcers.

Question: Can a broken ankle be a contributing factor to peripheral vascular disease?

Answer: It is very possible it could cause vascular comprimise distal to the fracture, but seems an unlikley factor in systemic peripheral vascular disease or in your other limbs. Please check with your doctor to see how you individual situation could affect any answer to this question.

Question: I have severe peripheral vascular disease. My dr is trying his best to prevent having to take away my limbs.? I know have approx. 15 stents in my legs and 10 in my heart area. Will my body allow me to continue to fight this battle or will there be a time when I just have too many stents? P.S. Thanks to Dr Samuel Demaio for helping me fight this battle. Thank you for your nice words.

Answer: I truly empathize with you. Having said that, let me give you the following info: In most cases, the presence of PVD is a sign of systemic atherosclerosis, which puts these patients at high risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular death. Risk factors for PVD include smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, family history of cardiac or vascular disease, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle Conservative treatment options, including cessation of tobacco use, exercise programs, and modifications in lipoprotein and cholesterol abnormalities, are the first line of defense against PVD. Have you and your Dr consider other options than amputation? 1) Angioplasty (Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty) TABLE 1 Angioplasty vs. Bypass Surgery for PVD of the Lower Extremities Angioplasty Advantages Offers faster recovery Requires shorter hospital stay Requires no general anesthesia Maintains all options for extremity revascularization Allows for preservation of the saphenous veins for future use (for extremity or coronary artery bypass) May be repeated if necessary May be combined with surgery to improve inflow or outflow of surgically placed grafts Disadvantages Lower primary patency rates Reinterventions due to restenosis may be necessary Of limited use in the presence of multiple-level stenoses Cost-benefit ratio for severe advanced PVD is debatable 2) Coronary Artery Bypass surgery (CABG) Advantages Considered the gold standard Has good long-term patency May be preferable to treat multiple stenoses if venous conduit available Disadvantages A higher rate of morbidity Potential systemic complications Typically requires general anesthesia Requires harvesting of saphenous veins and upper extremity veins, precluding their use for coronary artery bypass 3) Antiplatelet/antithrombotic therapy also may be considered for use in these patients. Studies have shown that aspirin therapy may modify the natural history of chronic lower extremity PVD. It also has been suggested that use of aspirin may prevent death and disability from stroke and myocardial infarction secondary to underlying disseminated atherosclerosis. I guess your Dr might have used the drug Trental among others already. 4) Percutaneous Revascularization - Surgical bypass of severely occluded vessels has been considered the gold standard for use in symptomatic patients who do not respond to more conservative treatments. Rapid advances in percutaneous revascularization techniques and equipment have significantly changed the patterns of vascular reconstruction, particularly when lifestyle modifications and drug therapies fai For purposes of revascularization, PVD is considered in terms of inflow (aortoiliac) and outflow (infrainguinal) occlusive disease. In both cases, surgical revascularization represents the gold standard against which the results of percutaneous revascularization with angioplasty and stents are compared. Increasingly, combined surgical bypass and percutaneous endovascular treatment by the vascular/interventional radiologist, vascular surgeon, or interventional cardiologist are being used to optimize patient outcome while minimizing morbidity. AORTIC REVASCULARIZATION The iliac arteries are technically among the easiest vessels to approach percutaneously and are the largest peripheral lower extremity vessels with the highest flow rates. These factors optimize the outcome of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTCA) and stenting (Table 2). Surgical bypass has a durable high rate of patency, reported as 93 percent at 42 months in a recent study,but it is a major surgical procedure with potential for systemic complications in patients with preexisting significant comorbid conditions Table 2 Characteristics of Best Candidates for Angioplasty Stenosis, rather than occlusion Short-segment disease Noncalcified lesions Concentric stenoses Large-vessel involvement No coronary comorbidity or treated coronary disease No diabetes Claudication Normal renal function Good run-off (i.e., patent vessels distal to treated lesion) NOTE: Patients who have had their saphenous veins harvested for coronary artery bypass may be better candidates for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty than for synthetic bypass grafting, depending on the lesion and location You might be interested in the info below : Directory of physicians who perform endovascular techniques, patient information about PVD and details about the Legs for Life National Screening Week for PVD Leg Pain are available through the Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiology, 10201 Lee Hwy., Suite 500, Fairfax, VA 22030; telephone, 800-488-7284; Web site, http://www.scvir.org Are you a good candiate for amputation? Remember, diabetics do not heal very well. You are indeed faced with an arduous life decision? There are a lot of questions and answers you have to consider.: Ischemia to lower limbs would eventually lead to gangrene and thus amputation. How long can you tolerate the pain and discomfort from claudication ? How many more stents can your extremities take? How long will this present stent remain patent? Is there any alternative solution to my problem aside from limb loss? Of course, it's easier for me to say; because I'm not in your shoes. But if I were you, I'll take my chances with every possible option short of amputation. No matter what they say about being wheelchair -bound; I don't think you'll ever get adjusted to that kind of substandard life. You'll be so devastated by the loss of your integrity and dignity as a vital individual. My prayers are with you!!! Pls post again to let us know about your decision.

Question: Peripheral vascular disease? I have very small blood vessels. Would this be the only cause of peripheral vascular disease or would they contribute to it to a greater or lesser extent ? Rose P.

Answer: PVD is characterised by peripheral vessles, legs, arms, carotids or aorta that are narrowed by colesterol plaques, good luck

Question: Poor Circulation (Peripheral Vascular Disease) please help.? Just curious if anyone knows any natural remedies for poor circulation in the feet. My moms feet are swollen and are like two times the size. She if falling a lot. All the doctor gives her is water pills but this is not working. Maybe there is some cream or something?

Answer: Firstly, ask ur mom to keep her leg elevated at most of the time...avoid hanging the legs for long time.. secondly, try to encourage her to do some movements of the ankle and feet..like rotating the ankle clockwise and anticlockwise direction, pedalling the feet etc.. gently massage the calf muscles.... she can also use crepe bandage when she is walking and this will really help in reducing the swelling roast salt(normal edible salt) in a pan so that it is really hot and make a bag with that and gently apply on the calf and feet...salt has got the property of reducing swelling and to improve circulation hope this helps u as we see our patients getting good results from these methods

Question: is there a doctor here can you tell me what is a peripheral vascular disease? can anyone answer this question

Answer: Peripheral vascular disease is so called to distinguish it from cerebro-vascular disease, affecting the blood vessels of the brain, and cardio-vascular disease, affecting the blood vessels of the heart. It refers to disease affecting the peripheral vessels, which is pretty much the rest. It mainly involves the vessels of the lower limbs however. The 'vascular disease' itself is really the same condition, wherever it occurs, though the site determines the symptoms. In each case cholesterol has deposited inside the artery causing it to narrow. The blood flow is reduced, and this causes problems, especially in times of extra demand. It also increases the risk of total blockage. If it is affecting the heart, when extra demand cannot be met, for example during excercise, the heart doesn't get enough blood and therefore enough oxygen and angina results, chest pain. If the vessel blocks you have a heart attack. If it is affecting the brain areas of brain become gradually damaged by lack of blood/oxygen. It it blocks a stroke results. If it affects the legs, on exertion the muscles don't get enough blood/oxygen and there is muscle pain in the legs, it is called claudication. If vessels block here gangrene may result. Generally patients with vascular disease in one area which causes symptoms, also have some disease in all the other areas.

Question: does anyone know why people with peripheral vascular disease shouldn't wear anti-embolism stockings?

Answer: beause they alreayd have compromised blood supply and putting external compression stocking on their legs worsens the arterial blood supply to their legs possibly causing ischamia, ulcers, gangrene

Question: what is meant by peripheral vascular disease?

Answer: peripheral refers to an area away from the center, and vascular refers to the veins and arteries, so peripheral vascular disease should be a disease of the arteries and veins of the arms and legs, probably that affects circulation.

Question: Is peripheral vascular disease reversible? If so, how would you go about it?

Answer: It has been noted in several ongoing studies that certain of the new cholesterol controlling drugs may play a part in reducing existing blockages (occlusions) in coronary arteries however these studies are not complete yet. It has been noted that peripheral arteries do not respond to treatment as coronary arteries do. While the cause is unknown it is suspected there are certain tissue makeup differences. Duke University, among others, is conducting studies on growing new arteries for patients using various cell growth methods. Currently it is felt that this approach may well eventually enable complete and total repair of diseased arteries. As my doctors say, once an artery is damaged there really is no "making it perfect again". All they can do is attempt repairs.

Question: Is there any effectilve medicine to treat peripheral vascular disease ? Mr. Banzai has done a good job in answering the question regardig "heparin". Please tell me whether there is medicine to cure/treat peripheral vascular disease. What diseases belong to peripheral disease. Thanks.

Answer: webmd.com or nih.gov or mayoclinic.com

Question: What is the difference between PAD (Peripheral Artery Disease) and PVD (Peripheral Vascular Disease)?

Answer: PAD is similar to arteriosclerosis, which is thickening/hardening of the artery wall, so therefore the blood flow becomes restricted. It is more common males, particularly if they have diabetes mellitus, other risk factors can be obesity & stress. PVD affects the blood vessels outside the heart & also the lymphatic vessels, symptoms maybe, numbness, pain, pallor or elevated blood pressure. For instance if PAD affects the leg, and it becomes gangrenous, amputation maybe required. Cigarette smoking is the main cause for PAD. I hope this helps clear it up a little for you.

Question: I think I have Peripheral vascular disease.? Everytime I stand up I have numbness in my feet. Is this a premature sign of diabetes? Can I reverse this?

Answer: Rest easy. Pain from PVD is EXERTIONAL. That means a leg hurts after a relatively consistent amount of walking. For example, every time you walk from your door to the street. If this continues to bother you, see your doctor.

Question: Is Hypoxemia related to Peripheral Vascular Disease??

Answer: Not really, hypoxemia is the lack of oxygen in the blood. PVD is the inability to get adequate blood flow to the extremities (arms and legs). So they both individualy can have the same results however hypoxemia will have low oxygen levels throughout the entire body and PVD will have oxygen delivery issues just to the extremities. If the blood doesn't make it to the extremities very well then those areas will be deprived of oxygen. If you are hypoxic, then the little blood that does reach the extremities already is low on oxygen, compounding the problem. Did this answer your question?

Question: pathophysiology of the peripheral vascular disease?

Answer: Peripheral vascular disease, also known as arteriosclerosis obliterans, is primarily the result of atherosclerosis. The atheroma consists of a core of cholesterol joined to proteins with a fibrous intravascular covering. The atherosclerotic process gradually may progress to complete occlusion of medium and large arteries.

Question: if you get your legs amputed because of peripheral vascular disease? do you not have the disease anymore?

Answer: If someone has peripheral vascular disease which has resulted in amputation, the amputation does not cure the disease. This is a severe manifestation of disease. The risk of having a heart attack, stroke or kidney failure is high. There needs to be lifelong treatment with diet, exercise and medications to control blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes if present. Do not let someone tell you that the cholesterol is not high. If there has been an amputation due to peripheral vascular disease, the cholesterol is too high. Additionally quitting smoking is essential.