Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) involves damage to or blockage in the blood vessels distant from the 
heart—the peripheral arteries and veins. These arteries and veins carry blood to and from the arm and leg muscles and the organs in and below the stomach area.
PVD also may affect the arteries leading to the head, resulting in carotid artery disease. When PVD affects only the arteries and not the veins, it is called peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The main forms that PVD may take include blood clots, swelling (inflammation), or narrowing and blockage of the blood vessels.
Why Choose St. Luke’s for Treatment of Peripheral Vascular Disease?
- Providing the latest technology. In addition to two cardiac catheterization suites dedicated to treatment of peripheral vascular disease, we offer two hybrid operating rooms to treat patients with advanced conditions. Such high-risk patients frequently have been denied treatment at other facilities.
- Experts in unblocking carotid arteries. Our interventional cardiologists have performed more than 1,000 carotid artery stent (CAS) procedures. CAS is a less invasive treatment for stroke-causing blockages in the carotid artery, benefiting patients with fewer risks of complications, shorter hospital stays and recovery times, and lower cost.
- Fellowship program in PVD treatment. We offer one of the nation’s few fellowship programs to train interventional cardiologists to treat peripheral vascular disease.
- Continuing education for doctors. Each year we offer up to 50 courses in the minimally invasive procedures developed by our interventional cardiologists to treat PVD. Practicing cardiologists, interventional radiologists and cardiovascular surgeons from across the nation attend.
Diseases of the arteries may lead to:
Disease of the veins may lead to:
- Venous blood clots
- Pulmonary embolism
- Phlebitis
- Varicose veins
What Causes Arterial Blockage?
Peripheral vascular disease can result from atherosclerosis, a condition in which plaque forms insides the arteries. When enough plaque builds up on the inside of an artery, the artery becomes clogged, and blood flow is slowed or stopped.
Risk factors for atherosclerosis in the peripheral arteries include:
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
What Are the Symptoms of Arterial Blockage?
- Pain in the calves, thighs, or buttocks - depending on where the blockage is. The amount of pain is a sign of how severe the blockage is.
- Leg cramps – sometimes develop with walking, and the leg pain usually gets worse with increased activity but goes away with rest. This cramping is called intermittent claudication. Cold temperatures and some medicines may also cause leg pain.
- Non-healing wounds on the feet.
In serious cases, the toes may turn a bluish color, the feet may be cold, and the pulse in the legs may be weak. In some cases, the tissue dies – this is called gangrene – and amputation may be needed.
How is an Arterial Blockage Diagnosed?
Doctors can make a diagnosis by listening to you describe your symptoms and by checking for a weak pulse in the arteries in your feet. Further tests may include:
- Ultrasound. A test that uses sound waves to produce an image of blood flow through your arteries.
- Arteriography. A test that may be performed if your doctor thinks your condition is serious enough for a transcatheter intervention or surgery. The test uses a harmless dye injected into the arteries and lets doctors see where and how serious the blockage is.
How is a Blockage Treated?
- Lifestyle changes. When the blockages are not severe, this form of PVD can be controlled by losing weight, quitting smoking, and following a regular exercise program that has been approved by your doctor.
- Transcatheter intervention. A balloon angioplasty or a peripheral stent – may be needed for a severely blocked artery that is causing pain or other symptoms.
- Peripheral vascular bypass. This procedure creates a way for blood to flow around one or more of the narrowed vessels. After making an incision in your arm or leg or below your stomach, the surgeon will take an artificial vessel or one of your own veins – called a graft – and connect it to the blocked vessel at points above and below the blockage. This allows blood to flow around the blockage.
Learn more about this topic at the website for Texas Heart® Institute, TexasHeart.org
