According to the CDC, 8.5 million people throughout the United States suffer from peripheral artery disease. At Vascular Health Center, we offer peripheral artery disease treatments that may help you restore your health and return to a better state of comfort.
What Is Peripheral Artery Disease?
Over time, fatty deposits build up in your arteries. In some cases, they become large enough to restrict blood flow to the legs. When this happens, Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) develops.
CC: JMachn/Wikipedia
Signs of Peripheral Artery Disease
Many people don’t experience any signs of peripheral artery disease. If they do, the following PAD symptoms are common:
- A painful ache in the legs upon walking. This disappears after a few minutes of resting and is called intermittent claudication.
- Hair loss on the legs and feet
- An increase in diabetic leg ulcers
- Numbness and weakness in the legs
- The toes on the affected leg become brittle
- Ulcers that won’t heal
- The skin on the legs turns purple or blue
- The skin on the legs becomes shiny
- The muscles in the legs start to shrink
- Men may experience erectile dysfunction
You may only experience a few of the peripheral artery disease symptoms. Some of them become apparent as the condition worsens. For example, discolored skin and non-healing ulcers are signs of advanced disease.
Dr. Nwobi typically treats PAD with a minimally invasive in-office
procedure, such as atherectomy, angioplasty, and stenting
Balloon Angioplasty
Using an image-guided technique, your peripheral artery disease doctor will place a small catheter inside the affected artery. They’ll then insert a small balloon and inflate it with the aim of promoting better blood flow.
Stent Placements
An alternative to balloon angioplasty is placing a stent. Using the same image-guided technique, your doctor will place a small mesh stent to improve the blood flow in the affected artery.
How Your Peripheral Artery Disease Diagnosis Works
Effective PAD screening involves a combination of asking you about your symptoms, examining your leg(s), and using imaging modalities such as doppler ultrasounds. We’ll spend about 15 minutes asking you about your PAD symptoms. Our team uses industry-renowned classifications to measure how advanced we believe your PAD is based on your mobility and how much pain you’re experiencing when walking.
In addition to asking you about your PAD symptoms, we’ll use the following approaches:
- We’ll feel for pulses throughout your legs as a reduced pulse is one of the most common symptoms of PAD in legs.
- We’ll also assess the color, temperature, and appearance of your legs and feet.
- Your peripheral artery disease doctor will look for ulcers.
- We may need to conduct tests such as an ankle-brachial index to further measure blood flow and a Doppler ultrasound.
After your PAD screening, you’ll meet with one of our physicians or a nurse practitioner to discuss the results. From there, we’ll make recommendations regarding your treatment.
PAD Disease Treatment Costs
PAD Disease Treatment CostsPAD disease treatment costs vary among patients. By attending your free screening appointment, you can find out how much your treatment will cost. When we’ve decided on your treatment plan, you can meet with one of our insurance specialists to discuss your payment options.
Your Payment Options
At Vascular Health Center, we accept various insurance plans for PAD treatment. You may need to meet certain terms before your insurance company can pay.
If you don’t have insurance or if PAD treatment isn’t covered by your plan, you can discuss self-payment options with our insurance specialists.
Accreditation & Awards, Memberships
