A Problem Lurking In Your Blood
One of the reasons that peripheral artery disease is so dangerous is that it doesn’t typically have a lot of symptoms. Even now, your arteries could be under a great deal of stress. Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, refers to the situation in which your arteries have narrow blood flow stemming through them. This is typically caused by the build-up of plaque. Why is this a problem? Your vascular system plays a critical role in the health and operation of your body. Without it running efficiently, your body could become severely injured or even die. This article will discuss peripheral artery diseases as well as potential treatments and preventions that Metro Vascular Centers suggests.
The Vascular System
First, it’s important that you understand the vascular system. This system incorporates all of the blood vessels within your body. These vessels carry blood. Within the blood are oxygen-rich or oxygen-deficient blood cells. Your heart pumps out the oxygen-rich blood cells through your body to organs and tissues. The cells in those locations utilize the oxygen to perform functions. When the blood cells have offered their oxygen, they then return to the heart in order to be given more oxygen. It’s a circulatory process.
When an organ or tissue does not receive an adequate amount of oxygen, then it starts to die. Essentially, they are being starved. You may eventually feel this sensation as a dull ache or cramp. It can become worse the more deprived that the organ or tissue is. Without your arteries performing efficiently, you may experience organ failure, cardiac arrest, or tissue atrophy.
Treatments And Prevention
Metro Vascular Centers offers a considerable amount of treatments to handle cases of PAD. The overall goal is to reduce or remove the amount of plaque within the artery. Plaque can keep the blood cells from being able to travel through the veins easily. This means that their target areas will receive less oxygen-rich blood cells. There are two main surgeries that can be performed to aid PAD. The first that Metro Vascular Centers offers is angioplasty. In this treatment, a small catheter will be inserted into the vein. A balloon forms which opens up the artery and ensures that the blood can easily flow once more.
The other popular treatment is to receive a medical stent. In this case, Metro Vascular Centers inserts a medical stent into the vessel. The stent is responsible for keeping the vein open.
Typically, it is better to reduce the amount of plaque in your blood as much as you can to avoid treatment in the first place. Plaque typically forms due to high-cholesterol and fat in the body. As such, Metro Vascular Centers suggests that you include regular exercise into your daily routine. Maintaining a healthy weight is vital. It may also be prudent to limit the amount of fat that you eat in meat, and instead increase the number of vegetables you consume.
