Vascular Disease

What is vascular disease?

Vascular disease isn’t a single condition; it’s a term for the numerous diseases that can affect your:

• Veins
• Arteries
• Lymph vessels
• Lymph nodes

These form the vascular system, which is a network that carries blood and other fluids to all the parts of your body. One of the vascular diseases Dr. Odiete at Peachstate Advanced Cardiac and Endovascular (PACE) sees most often is atherosclerosis.

What is atherosclerosis?

Peripheral arteries carry blood away from your heart when it’s freshly oxygenated and ready to supply your organs and tissues. Like the coronary arteries serving your heart, peripheral arteries can get plaque, which is a substance made up of cholesterol and waste products.

Plaque sticks to the inside of the artery walls, causing the blood vessels to narrow. That means there’s less space, which restricts your blood flow. In time, plaque can block an artery in your chest completely, causing a heart attack. Blocked carotid arteries can cause a stroke.

If you get a blocked artery in your leg, it can cause claudication (leg pain and tiredness) and ulcers (open, non-healing wounds).

What other vascular diseases are there?

Some of the other vascular diseases Peachstate Advanced Cardiac and Endovascular (PACE) sees quite often include:

Aneurysm

An aneurysm is a bulge in one of your veins or arteries. Aneurysms most commonly affect the aorta, which is the main blood vessel coming out of your heart. Small aneurysms aren’t necessarily anything to worry about. However, larger ones could be painful and increase your risk of developing a blood clot. Ruptured aneurysms are potentially fatal.

Peripheral venous disease and varicose veins

Your veins carry blood back up to your heart. They have a one-way system to prevent blood from going in the wrong direction, consisting of valves that allow blood flow towards the heart but prevent blood flowing away from the heart. If your valves get weak or damaged, blood can trickle back the wrong way and pool, causing unsightly and uncomfortable varicose veins.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE)

VTEs are blood clots in your veins. If you have a clot in your leg or pelvis, it’s called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). If part of the blood clot should break off, it could travel around your circulation until it reaches the lungs and gets stuck. This is called a pulmonary embolism (PE), which can be fatal.

How are vascular diseases diagnosed?

Dr. Odiete uses a variety of advanced diagnostic tools to help him pinpoint the cause of your symptoms. After your initial discussion and a physical exam, you might need to have a(n):

• Ultrasound
• Intravascular ultrasound
• Arteriography
• Ankle-brachial index (ABI)
• CTA (computed tomography arteriogram) scan
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) arteriogram
• Doppler ultrasound
• Catheter angiography

Take care of your vascular disease by contacting Peachstate Advanced Cardiac and Endovascular (PACE).