1What is PAD?
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) means narrowing of the blood vessels leading to inadequate blood supply to various parts of body. PAD usually refers to the inadequate blood supply to the legs
2Why PAD occurs?
PAD occurs because of the deposition of plaque (material of fat & cholesterol) in the blood vessels. This process is known as Atherosclerosis
3Who are at risk of developing PAD?
People with Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart disease, Cholesterol abnormalities, and smoking
4What are the symptoms of PAD?
- Leg pain is the most common symptom.
TO begin with, a person gets cramp like leg pain after walking a certain distance which gets relieved with rest
If untreated, pain becomes severe burning type of the pain which increases at night and doesn’t allow a person to sleep. - Non-healing ulcer over foot or leg
- Gangrene of toes or foot.
5What is gangrene?
Gangrene means the death of tissue. Term Gangrene is usually used for toes, fingers, or extremities. Gangrenous tissue necessitates the removal of dead tissue.
6How do we diagnose PAD?
Through clinical examination by an expert vascular surgeon
ABPI: measuring blood pressure over arms and legs
Color Doppler ultrasound which is painless sonography of blood vessels of the leg
Angiography: Angio means blood vessel and Graphy means to see. Angiography is of various types viz. CT scan Angiography, MR angiography, Digital Subtraction Angiography.
ABPI: measuring blood pressure over arms and legs
Color Doppler ultrasound which is painless sonography of blood vessels of the leg
Angiography: Angio means blood vessel and Graphy means to see. Angiography is of various types viz. CT scan Angiography, MR angiography, Digital Subtraction Angiography.
7 How do we treat PAD?
The objective of treatment is to improve blood supply to the legs which can be done with the following methods
- Medications like Cilastazol, Aspirin, Clopidogrel, Statin
- Angioplasty with Stenting, a non-operative procedure wherein the blocked artery is opened up with Angioplasty Balloon and kept open with a Metallic stent
- Leg Bypass operation wherein a blockage in the artery is bypassed either with a vein or a synthetic tube
8What are the complications of Bypass/ Angioplasty?
Wound infection, Blockage of treated artery/graft/stent, Amputation, etc
9How to prevent PAD?
- Regular exercise mainly walking
- Diet control
- Avoidance of smoking
- Weight reduction
- Medications like Aspirin, cholesterol-lowering drugs, Rivaroxaban, etc
10What is the after care?
After angioplasty or bypass operation, a person should continue prescribed medications till advised
- Regular follow up as advised
- Stop smoking
- Start walking
- Control of risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) in Legs - Balloon Angioplasty & Bypass Operation - A video by Dr. Vijay Thakore (Senior Vascular Specialist, Vadodara, Gujarat)
Do you have pain in your leg while walking? It can be PVD. Know about PVD (Peripheral Vascular Disease) through animation video
