What is Peripheral Vascular Disease?Peripheral vascular disease refers to diseases of blood vessels outside the heart and brain. It's often a narrowing of vessels that carry blood to the legs, arms, stomach or kidneys. There are two types of these circulation disorders: 
Functional peripheral vascular diseases don't have an organic cause. They don't involve defects in blood vessels' structure. They're usually short-term effects related to "spasm" that may come and go. Reynaud’s disease is an example. It can be triggered by cold temperatures, emotional stress, working with vibrating machinery or smoking. Organic peripheral vascular diseases (PVD)are caused by structural changes in the blood vessels, such as inflammation and tissue damage. Peripheral artery disease is an example. It's caused by fatty buildups in arteries that block normal blood flow.
PVD can affect the arteries, the veins or the lymph vessels. The most common and important type of PVD is peripheral arterial disease, or PAD, which affects about 8 million Americans. It becomes more common as one gets older, and by age 65, about 12 to 20 percent of the population has it. Diagnosis is critical, as people with PAD have a four to five times higher risk of heart attack or stroke. Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is a nearly pandemic condition that has the potential to cause loss of limb or even loss of life. Peripheral vascular disease manifests as insufficient tissue perfusion caused by existing atherosclerosis that may be acutely compounded by either emboli or thrombi. Many people live daily with PVD; however, in settings such as acute limb ischemia, this pandemic disease can be life threatening and can require emergency intervention to minimize morbidity and mortality. Peripheral vascular disease is a symptom of many diseases. One of which is caused by diabetes. It is a disease that affects your vascular system which slows or stops blood flow to areas of your body by obstructions that slowly build up in your veins and arteries. When this happens it can cause numerous problems. Such as atherosclerosis, inflammatory processes leading to stenosis, an embolism or thrombus formation.
Techniques used to diagnose PAD and PVD include a medical history, physical exam, ultrasound, X-ray angiography and magnetic resonance imaging angiography (MRA).Most people with PAD can be treated with lifestyle changes, medications or both. Lifestyle changes to lower your risk include: These may also require drug treatment. Drugs include: In a minority of patients, lifestyle modifications alone aren't sufficient. In these cases, angioplasty or surgery may be necessary. Angioplasty is a non-surgical procedure that can be used to dilate (widen) narrowed or blocked peripheral arteries. A thin tube called a catheter with a deflated balloon on its tip is passed into the narrowed artery segment. The balloon is then inflated, compressing the plaque and dilating the narrowed artery so that blood can flow more easily. Then the balloon is deflated and the catheter is withdrawn. Often a stent — a cylindrical, wire mesh tube — is placed in the narrowed artery with a catheter. There the stent expands and locks open. It stays in that spot, keeping the diseased artery open. If the narrowing involves a long portion of an artery, surgery may be necessary. A vein from another part of the body or a synthetic blood vessel is used. It's attached above and below the blocked area to detour blood around the blocked spot.
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