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What Is It
• Disease of blood vessels outside the heart and brain, resulting in poor blood circulation
• Can include inflammation and tissue damage of blood vessels, as well as fatty plaque buildups of arterial or venous walls

Am I At Risk Major risk factors include:
• Diabetes
• Tobacco use
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• High “bad” cholesterol levels, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
• Cardiovascular disease
• Personal or family history of stroke or heart attack
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Older Age

Symptoms
• Pain or cramping of the legs or arms during normal day-to-day activity Often described as a dull cramping pain, heaviness, tightness, or tiredness of the muscles

Diagnostic Consultation
• In-depth physical examination, personal questioning, and analysis of your past medical history
• Ultrasound scans offer a low-cost, non-invasive tool for measuring blood flow and assisting you and the doctor in determining if you have PVD
• Scans are performed by our certified on-staff lab technician, take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete, and can be scheduled on the same day of your doctor’s appointment

Treatment
Doctor’s Orders
• The doctor can recommend personalized lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of PVD and sometimes is all that is needed; however, moderate and severe cases of PVD may warrant more proactive treatment
Medication
• Various anti-coagulation and cholesterol-lowering (statins) prescription medications can assist in treating and lowering one’s risk of PVD by preventing the buildup of plaque in the arterial walls
Procedures
• Angiogram
• Through a small needle puncture site, doctors can access your blood vessels using a variety of catheters and wires
• Utilizing X-ray technology, doctors can visualize your blood vessel anatomy and flow
• The procedure can typically be performed in conjunction with other minimally-invasive treatments (see below) and lasts anywhere between 1-3 hours.
• Personalized sedation and local anesthesia administered by a staff anesthesiologist can minimize any discomfort you might feel during or after the procedure
• Upon completion of the procedure, patients will be able to walk out of the office the same day
Angioplasty In treating narrowed or blocked blood vessels, our doctors can insert and inflate small balloon catheters to dilate or expand the restricted vessels Stenting Often used in conjunction with balloon angioplasty, doctors can insert and place small cylindrical-shaped mesh stents to reinforce and support artery walls and prevent future narrowing Thrombolysis During an angiogram, our doctors can inject certain medications directly into problematic blood vessels to either dilate the vessel or dissolve harmful clots Bypass In the event of complete blood vessel failure, our doctors can take a donor blood vessel or a non-crucial vessel from the patient (such as a vein) and redirect blood flow so as to bypass the diseased vessel The procedure is an open surgery and must be performed at any one of several nearby hospitals for safety purposes; however, patients can be seen by the doctor before and after the procedure at the office.