Peripheral Artery Disease: Types of Intervention Therapy

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) covers all disorders of the arteries outside the coronary arteries, including stenosis, or narrowing. This includes the arteries of the upper and lower extremities, the ascending aorta, the visceral organs, and the carotid and cerebral arteries. In general, though, PAD refers mostly to the arteries of the extremities.

In many cases, people with PAD do not realize they have the disease. PAD is sometimes asymptomatic, meaning it shows no symptoms until it is already severe. Some patients, however, do show a few PAD symptoms.

Symptoms and Risk Factors of Peripheral Artery Disease
There are at least three major risk factors for peripheral artery disease (PAD): smoking, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. Other factors can also trigger PAD, such as age, obesity and hypertension.

In some people, peripheral artery disease can cause certain symptoms, such as:

• Difficulty healing wounds, especially open wounds known as ulcers.
• Dead body tissue caused by an inadequate supply of nutrients and blood, known as gangrene.
• Pain when walking.
• Leg pain at rest.
• Intermittent claudication, when you often feel muscle fatigue, cramps or pain during activity that goes away once you rest.

Types of Peripheral Intervention Therapy for PAD Patients
Treating peripheral artery disease does not always mean surgery or amputation. The medical approach is generally tailored to the diagnosis first. A doctor may offer several types of peripheral intervention therapy to PAD patients, such as:

1. Supportive Therapy
This type of peripheral intervention therapy is part of exercise therapy. Common measures include:

• Keeping the feet moisturized and clean.
• Exercising regularly, the therapy that helps treatment the most.
• Wearing sandals or shoes that fit your feet properly, made of synthetic material.
• Treating all existing risk factors.

2. Pharmacological Therapy
This therapy means giving medication to patients with peripheral artery disease. Drugs that may be prescribed include:

• Clopidogrel.
• Aspirin.
• Pentoxifylline.
• Ticlopidine
• Cilostazol

Patients with different conditions or diagnoses may receive different prescriptions, so make sure you take your medication as your doctor directs.

3. Thrombolytic Therapy
This type of peripheral intervention therapy places a percutaneous selective arterial catheter in the area of the blocked thrombus. Compared with giving drugs intravenously, it can help reduce bleeding complications.
These peripheral intervention therapies are generally used when peripheral artery disease is not yet severe and can still be handled without surgery.

Read Also:

What You Need to Know About Coronary Heart Disease