Vascular Disease

Vascular disease includes any condition that affects your circulatory system. This ranges from diseases of your arteries, veins, and lymph vessels, to blood disorders that affect circulation. A few of the many different types of vascular disease include peripheral artery disease, peripheral venous disease, and aneurysms.

Ankle Brachial Index (ABI): A simple, non-invasive
test that measures the ratio of the blood pressure in
your ankle to that in your arm.

Doppler Ultrasound: a non-invasive test using sound
waves to provide an image of the inside of the blood
vessel to determine if a specific artery has plaque buildup.

Angiogram: A special dye is injected into the arteries
under local anesthetic and x-rays are taken to reveal the
arteries and the presence of any narrowing or blockages.

Computerized Axial Tomography Scan (CT or CAT
Scan): Uses x-rays to create three dimensional images of
a part of the body. It can be done with contrast (x-ray) dye
if your doctor wants to see the vessels; this procedure is
called a CAT scan angiogram or CTA.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Uses a very strong
magnet to make three dimensional images of a part of the
body. It can show atheroscelerosis of carotid and peripheral
arteries. It can be done using contrast dye as well if your
doctor wants to see the vessels more clearly; this procedure
is call magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA).

Medical Management Treatment

• Medications
• Diet Changes
• Lifestyle Changes
• Risk Factor Reduction

Angioplasty: Angioplasty or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is a technique used to widen the narrowing in your artery without surgery. A catheter (thin tube) with a small inflatable balloon on the end is inserted into the narrowed section of the artery. The balloon is inflated so it pushes outward against the plaque and surrounding wall of the artery, reducing the narrowing to improve blood flow. The balloon is then deflated and removed from the artery.

Stent Implantation: Many patients who have an angioplasty also have a stent implanted. A stent is a small, mesh, metal tube that is placed in your blood vessel on a balloon catheter. The stent expands against the vessel wall as the balloon is inflated. Once the balloon has been deflated and withdrawn, the stent stays in place permanently, helping to keep the blood vessel open and improve blood flow.

Cryoplasty: This special type of angioplasty uses a balloon filled with nitrous oxide (rather than saline solution as in traditional angioplasty), which cools and turns into a gas to expand the balloon. The gas gently cools the inside of the vessel, which weakens the plaque as it opens up the blockage.

Bypass Surgery: The goal of bypass surgery is to
increase blood flow. Peripheral bypass surgery using
synthetic graft material or harvested veins is used to
provide blood flow around diseased areas in the lower
extremities.