Peripheral vascular disease, PVD as it is commonly known, is a disease that affects blood vessels that are responsible for supplying blood to different body parts except to the heart and the brain. This disease reduces the blood flow to the affected area and hence creates a lot of problems in everyday life, this is why it is a disease that should be looked after by a peripheral vascular specialist in Jackson Heights, NY.
What Is PVD?
PVD is a disease that mainly affects the legs, arms, and other parts of the body. The arteries involved in this disease are narrowed which results in reduced blood flow, and this issue in the blood flow is what causes the symptoms.
What happens in this disease is that the lumen is narrowed, which causes ischemia to the tissues that are receiving blood vessels from the affected arteries, leading to blood flow which in turn leads to diminished or sometimes even absent pulse when it is palpated. All the process then leads to intermittent claudication which actually means pain in the affected area which resolves by resting.
What Are the Symptoms Associated With PVD?
- Dry and shiny skin in the affected area. This patch of skin doesn’t even have any hair.
- Nails that are thin and brittle.
- Normal-sized round ulcers that are painful and don’t heal normally.
- The area becomes red when it is placed under gravity, this phenomenon is called independent rubor.
- It also may cause gangrene, after the blood flow to the area is completely obstructed.
- If the iliac artery is affected, it may also lead to impotence in males.
What Are the Risk Factors Involved in PVD?
- Smoking can be a cause that might lead to this disease.
- Old age can also be a factor.
- Common diseases like diabetes and hypertension may also trigger the disease.
- There are other diseases that are very closely related to peripheral vascular disease and can be a cause leading to it. Examples of these diseases include atherosclerosis, thromboembolism, inflammatory conditions like Buerger’s disease, and functional conditions like Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Diagnosis and Treatment
This is a disease that is not self-diagnosed and needs a proper clinical diagnosis, the doctor will notice the symptoms and suggest some tests.
For the treatment of PVD, your doctor will prescribe medicines but also ask you to make some lifestyle changes like exercising regularly, eating healthy, and quitting smoking.
