Peripheral Vascular Disease: When Should I Consider Surgery?

Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is a chronic disease that affects the blood vessels — arteries or veins — outside your heart and lungs. Affecting about 45 million Americans, PVD dramatically increases the risks of heart attack, stroke, and other life-threatening complications.

While many people with PVD manage the condition conservatively, others require more aggressive treatment that only surgery can provide. 

In this post, our team at Florida Heart, Vein, and Vascular Institute offers a brief overview of peripheral vascular disease and its surgical management to help you understand all your treatment options.

Quick facts about peripheral vascular disease

PVD develops when your veins or arteries slowly narrow or become blocked, often due to a buildup of sticky cholesterol deposits. Blood clots, infections, injuries, and spasm disorders can also lead to PVD. 

When your blood vessels narrow, your limbs and organs can’t get the steady supply of oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood they need to stay healthy and functioning. As a result, people with PVD are at risk of:

• Heart attack or stroke
• Slow healing and increased risk of infection
• Mobility issues
• Limb ischemia and gangrene
• Limb amputation

Symptoms include limb cramps, limb weakness, loss of sensation in the limb, and changes in limb temperature and skin texture. PVD can also lead to erectile dysfunction. Over time, PVD and its symptoms can become progressively worse.

Anyone can develop PVD, but it tends to happen more commonly among people who:

• Smoke or have a history of smoking
• Are over age 50
• Have a history of heart disease
• Are obese
• Lead a sedentary lifestyle
• Have diabetes
• Are male
• Are female and in menopause
• Have a personal or family history of hypertension, high cholesterol, or PVD

Some risk factors, like smoking and diabetes, are also associated with a higher risk of PVD-related complications, including poor healing response and limb ischemia.

Treating PVD

For most people, the first line of therapy for PVD involves conservative options, including medication to prevent clots or improve blood flow. Lifestyle changes, like increasing exercise and adopting a healthy diet, are also part of a conservative approach to treatment.

While these options may be helpful in earlier stages of PVD, they’re not always effective at relieving symptoms or reducing the risk of serious complications. In those instances, we often recommend surgery.

We perform state-of-the-art, minimally invasive interventions to enlarge (widen) clogged arteries or to remove clots. 

In rare instances, we may recommend replacing a damaged vessel with a healthy graft. Before recommending any type of surgery, we may require an angiogram to evaluate and map out the damaged part of the vessel.

Make vascular health a priority

If you have symptoms or risk factors associated with PVD, schedule an evaluation to receive treatment focused on minimizing your health risks. Book an appointment online or over the phone with our team at Florida Heart, Vein, and Vascular Institute in Zephyrhills, Lakeland, Plant City, and Riverview, Florida.