PVD, or peripheral vascular disease, is a cardiovascular condition that progresses slowly. A blood vessel spasm, blockage, or narrowing may cause PVD. It may affect any blood-carrying passage, including arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels. The legs and other organs nourished by these veins might not receive enough blood flow in this disease. But the most typical regions to experience this are the feet and legs. Other names for it include peripheral arterial disease.
The symptoms and indicators of peripheral vascular disorders are covered in this article.
About Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) causes the blood vessels to constrict or block the supply of blood to your heart and brain.
Your arteries or veins may be the usual disease site of this situation. Leg pain and exhaustion are characteristic symptoms of PVD, which frequently affect the function of your legs.
And this situation is worsened by doing exercise. Usually, taking rest helps to overcome the pain.
What are the types of Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)?
Functional and organic PVD are the two primary types of this disease.
Functional PVD
- There is no structural harm to your blood arteries in functional PVD. Instead, other things including brain signals and temperature changes cause your arteries to dilate and constrict.
- As a result, this constriction causes a reduction in blood flow.
Organic PVD
- Changes to blood artery structure such as inflammation, plaques, and tissue damage are the reason for organic PVD.
What could be some of the potential risk factors for Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)?
Unchangeable risk factors include:
- Postmenopausal women
- Heart disease history
- Male gender
- Individuals over 50 years
- Family history of peripheral vascular disease, high blood pressure, or high levels of cholesterol
The following risk components could be modified or managed:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol
- Coronary artery disease
- Smoking or use of tobacco products
- Overweight
- Physical inactivity
What are the Symptoms of Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)?
About half of those with PVD don’t have any symptoms.
Leg cramping that gets worse with exercise and gets better with rest is the most typical first symptom for those who have it (intermittent claudication). The pain goes away when you’re resting since your muscles require less blood supply. Depending on where the artery is blocked or narrowed, it may affect one or both legs.
Other PVD symptoms could include
- Thin skin on the legs and feet
- Weak pulses in the legs and feet
- Gangrene (dead tissue from a lack of blood flow)
- Hair loss on the legs
- Low skin temperature
- Wounds that won’t heal over pressure points
- Numbness and heaviness in the muscles
- Burning or aching at rest
- Paleness
- Reddish-blue coloring of the limbs
- Severe pain when an artery is severely narrowed or stopped
PVD symptoms can resemble those of other illnesses. Consult with a doctor to get a proper diagnosis.
What causes Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)?
The main reason for peripheral vascular disease is
- Arteriosclerosis, often known as “hardening of the arteries,” or blood vessel spasms causes plaques to build up in blood vessels, which reduces the amount of blood and oxygen that can reach your organs and limbs. Additionally, it reduces the tissue’s access to nutrients and oxygen. Also, on the artery walls, blood clots may form, significantly reducing the blood vessel’s inner size and obstructing major arteries.
Other causes of PVD may include:
- Irregular anatomy of ligaments or muscles
- Infection
- Injury to the arms or legs
- People with coronary artery disease (CAD) often also have PVD.
What is the Treatment for Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)?
To reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other problems, the primary goals of PVD treatment are to control the symptoms of the disease and stop its progression.
A variety of other treatments are also possible which are;
- Drugs to improve blood flow like antiplatelet agents (blood thinners)
- Medicines to relax walls of blood vessel
- Vascular surgery—to reroute the blood flow by inserting a synthetic tube in the constricted artery.
- Angioplasty – During this procedure, your physician expands an artery’s opening to improve blood flow through the insertion of a catheter.
- Lifestyle modifications to reduce risk factors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, and quitting smoking
- Treatment of pre-existing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol
Add on – Before angioplasty and vascular surgery, angiography may be performed.
Let your healthcare provider know about this
Inform a doctor if your symptoms worsen or if you develop any new symptoms. A vascular surgeon in Lahore might suggest a preventative strategy to stop or slow the progression of PVD. For this, you may consult one of the best specialists for treating peripheral vascular disease.