Peripheral Arterial Disease Specialist

What is peripheral arterial disease?

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a circulatory condition that causes narrowed arteries, reduced blood flow to your arms and legs, and unpleasant symptoms, such as:

• Leg pain during activities, but not when you stop activities
• Numbness, coldness, or tingling in lower legs and feet
• Ulcers or sores that don’t heal on your legs or feet
• Erectile dysfunction (men)
• Leg pain that awakens you
• Slow-growing leg hair or toenails
• Weak pulse in your legs or feet
• Shiny or discolored leg skin

In some cases, you may have no obvious symptoms of peripheral arterial disease. It may be lurking in the background, and if diagnosed, could point to a serious health condition known as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis reduces blood flow to your brain, heart, and other parts of your body.  Since all the vascular beds are connected, PAD left untreated may lead to heart attack, stroke, or tissue death/limb amputation.

What are the risk factors for peripheral arterial disease?

While you can’t always avoid getting PAD, certain factors can increase your risk of developing it, such as:

• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Smoking
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Being 50 or older
• Family history of  PAD

Having diabetes and being a smoker are two of the greatest risk factors for developing peripheral arterial disease. Maintaining a healthy body weight, getting regular exercise, and eating a healthy diet are ways you can lower the risk of getting PAD.

How is peripheral arterial disease diagnosed?

If you experience symptoms of peripheral arterial disease, Dr. Golshan will go over your medical history, conduct a physical exam, and perform imaging tests as needed. To make a definitive diagnosis, Dr. Golshan may use:

• An ankle-brachial index test to compare blood pressure in your arms and ankles
• An ultrasound to evaluate blood flow through your blood vessels

What is the treatment for peripheral arterial disease?

Dr. Golshan and the medical team at Vascular Access Center of Downey treat PAD using the least invasive strategy first. Dr. Golshan may recommend lifestyle changes to improve blood flow, including smoking cessation and a structured exercise program.

If conservative methods fail to improve your PAD, you may be a candidate for minimally invasive treatments.

Angioplasty

Angioplasty is a minimally invasive treatment for PAD. The vascular specialist threads a catheter through the femoral artery in the groin to the blocked artery in the legs, then inflates a balloon to open the blood vessel and improve flow.

Stenting

With stenting, the vascular specialist places a thin wire mesh tube, referred to as a stent, into the affected artery to keep it open. Stenting may be used in conjunction with angioplasty.

Atherectomy

Atherectomy is the process of debulking vessel plaque to correct the narrowing within the vessel lumen. You may have atherectomy following angioplasty whether a stent is placed or not.

To learn more about PAD treatment options at Vascular Access Center of Downey, call or go online to book an appointment today.

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