What Are the Treatments for PAD?
There are several different types of treatments for PAD. Treatments depend on the severity as well as on comorbidities, so it is important to find a specialist like Dr. David Nabi who will create a treatment plan that has been tailored to you.
Lifestyle changes can greatly improve symptoms for patients with a non-severe case of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). Exercising for 30 minutes a day has been shown to help alleviate symptoms of PAD. Diet changes in conjunction with medications that decrease cholesterol levels or lower hypertension can also make a positive difference in the fight against PAD.
Other medications can prevent blood clots and arterial plaque accumulation.
But what happens if you are not responding to lifestyle changes and medication? At that point, your doctor will determine whether an interventional procedure or a surgical option would work best for you.
Interventional procedures include angioplasty, stents, thrombolytic therapy, stent-grafts, and atherectomy.
Angioplasty comes from the prefix "angio-," which pertains to blood vessels, and "plasty" from the Greek suffix "plasia," which means to form or mold. An angioplasty is a treatment that opens up blockages or arterial blood vessels that have narrowed. This procedure involves placing a balloon by the obstructed blood vessel which then inflates to open the blood vessel. Angioplasty is often in conjunction with drug therapy.
A stent is a small metal mesh tube that is used to hold a blocked vessel open.
Thrombolytic therapy is a treatment to help alleviate blockages caused by blood clots. Thrombolytic medications are utilized to eradicate the clot and reestablish blood flow. The thrombolytic drugs are usually administered via a catheter into the blood clot.
A stent-graft procedure is when a synthetically covered stent is placed into the affected blood vessels to bypass diseased arteries.
An atherectomy is a process that involves sanding away calcified plaque with a diamond dust-coated drill.
If interventional procedures are not appropriate, your vascular surgeon may recommend surgical treatment. Surgical treatments include a thrombectomy, which is used for acute PAD symptoms that originated from a blood clot. Bypass grafts are vein grafts that either take elements from another body part or artificial material to create an alternative path that bypasses the damaged artery.
If you live in Southern California and want an individualized treatment plan, seek out the expertise of a vascular surgery professional like Dr. David Nabi at NewportVascular.com.