Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)

Vascular Interventional & Vein Associates

Vascular Surgeons located in Vero Beach, FL & Fort Pierce, FL

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) usually develops in your legs, where one of the earliest symptoms is leg pain that appears when exercising and improves at rest. At Vascular Interventional & Vein Associates, Pranay Ramdev, MD, FACS, specializes in treating PAD, beginning with conservative care when possible and recommending surgical procedures when PAD significantly blocks blood flow through your leg. If you have questions about PAD or need to schedule an appointment, call one of the offices in Vero Beach or Fort Pierce, Florida, or use the online booking feature.

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) Q & A

What causes peripheral artery disease?

Your peripheral arteries deliver oxygen-rich blood to all parts of your body except your heart and brain. Though PAD can develop in any of the peripheral arteries, it most often affects your legs.

PAD begins when cholesterol-filled plaque builds up on the artery wall, a condition called atherosclerosis. Without treatment, the plaque continues to enlarge and harden, which narrows the artery and restricts blood flow.

What symptoms develop due to PAD?

You won’t experience symptoms until the plaque gets large enough to block a significant amount of the blood flow.

Then you’ll have symptoms such as:

Leg pain
Leg fatigue or heaviness
Leg numbness or tingling
Slow-healing leg wounds
Muscle pain in the thighs or lower leg
Thickened, reddish-brown skin on your lower leg
Hair loss on the affected leg
A change in the way you walk
Paleness, blueness, or a weak pulse in the leg

Claudication, one of the most common symptoms of PAD, refers to having leg pain that occurs when you walk, but then feels better when you rest.

How is peripheral artery disease treated?

Lifestyle changes, such as diet, exercise, stopping smoking, and losing weight, can slow down or prevent atherosclerosis in the early stages.

If you have a moderate or severe blockage, you need a procedure to eliminate the blockage, restore circulation, and prevent serious complications.

Dr. Ramdev performs minimally invasive procedures on an outpatient basis in a comfortable surgical suite served by qualified and experienced nurses and staff. You receive minimal sedation, recover quickly, and go home the same day.

Dr. Ramdev treats PAD with procedures such as:

Angioplasty and stenting

Dr. Ramdev inserts a catheter into the blocked artery and gently expands a balloon on the end of the catheter. The balloon pushes the blockage against the artery wall, opening the vessel and restoring blood flow. Then he implants a tiny metal cylinder called a stent to hold the artery open.

Atherectomy

When the plaque is too hard to treat with angioplasty, Dr. Ramdev uses a catheter that shaves away the plaque or contains a laser that vaporizes the plaque.

Cryoplasty

Using a catheter inside the artery, Dr. Ramdev freezes the plaque, then breaks it up and removes it from the artery.

Bypass graft

Dr. Ramdev can also restore circulation by bypassing the blockage. He takes a vein from another area of your body and attaches it above and below the blockage, allowing blood to flow freely through the graft.

If you develop leg pain or other symptoms of PAD, call Vascular Interventional & Vein Associates or book an appointment online.

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