Sounds pretty unbelievable, doesn’t it?

If you have varicose veins and you’ve been trying to “live with them” for some time, that’s exactly what several of the top Phoenix vein specialists like Dr. Karen Garby, Dr. Jeff Braxton and Dr. Hassan Makki, at Comprehensive Integrated Care can do with a comprehensive treatment plan. If you have reached the point where you’re tired of varicose veins ruining your quality of life and you want to be rid of them forever, we can help you accomplish that. Want to know how? Read this article.

Varicose vein removal really can improve your quality of life

If you are like many of the patients we see at our vein clinics, one of the things that would most improve your quality of life would be seeing your reflection in the mirror after vein treatment. Or what about being able to walk your kids to school? You can’t comfortably do that now because your swollen achy legs make it hard to do anything but complain “My legs hurt!” Well, the purpose of this article is to tell you that these things are possible.

Perhaps you’ve been postponing seeking varicose vein treatment for some time. You’ve tried to ignore your varicose veins by wearing long pants and dark stockings and limiting your activities because your legs will hurt. Chances are you’ve begun to realize that this doesn’t work. Left untreated, varicose veins don’t go away or get better on their own. They tend to get worse.

And “worse” tends to manifest in ways you never expected. If you’re like most people who’ve tried to ignore their swollen and discolored veins, you’ve begun to realize that they do affect your health.

How varicose veins affect both your physical and mental health

Have you noticed how tired and weak your legs feel? And that they feel that way, all the time? Have you noticed that you’ve become more inactive, and have started making excuses to avoid walking or dancing or playing sports? These are the physical side effects of having varicose veins.

There is also the cosmetic aspect of these swollen veins, and how that makes you feel mentally. Have you noticed that your first reaction when you look into the mirror every morning is to feel depressed about the way your varicose veins make you look? Having varicose veins has been identified as a major cause of low self-esteem. Being unable to comfortably wear shorts or bathing suits because you’re ashamed of how your legs look takes its toll over time. It can leave you with diminished self-confidence. Over time, this can sometimes escalate to feelings of isolation and depression.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could eliminate the cause of all this?

At CiC, we can make these symptoms go away, by eliminating the diseased veins that cause them. The minimally-invasive treatments we offer at our vein centers are performed on an outpatient basis. This means that the techniques are not surgeries.

Varicose vein removal at CiC vein centers involve no hospitals, no deep incisions, no general anesthesia (because none is needed). And if you have only a few varicose veins, the procedures may be completed in less than an hour.

Yes, it can take time before all signs of varicose veins disappear from the surface of your skin. But the relief from the side effects that these diseased veins have on your physical health can be life changing. Patients often report that their energy levels increase, and that the pain, discomfort, and tiredness they’ve been living with for months is now gone. Best of all, every time you look into your mirror you will see fewer and fewer traces of the old ugly veins. In a very short time you won’t see them at all – your legs will be restored to their youthful beauty.

Think about this, and if it appeals to you, give us a call at 888-377-7122

We understand that “We can change your life” sounds as if we’re talking about magic, but we’re not. We’re talking about the current state of modern varicose vein treatment.

So give the best vein doctors in Phoenix a call. We’ll be happy to explain our varicose vein treatment options to you and help you get started feeling better fast.

The post Top Phoenix Vein Specialists: Improving Your Quality of Life Could Be As Simple As a 1-Hour Procedure appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

You have endured unattractive varicose veins and the side effects they cause, such as constantly swollen, painful, aching legs. You’re tired of making excuses to avoid being seen in a bathing suit or shorts. And, you’re tired of feeling bad about yourself every time you look into the mirror. In the words of the movie Network, you’re “mad as hell and you’re not going to take it any more!” You’re ready to try to find the best varicose vein treatment near you.

Congratulations! As varicose vein treatment specialists, we applaud your decision to do something about your varicose veins. At CiC, we want to do everything we can to help you follow through on getting the treatment you need. In this article, we’ll start by suggesting what your next steps should be.

Step 1: Get a venous health screening and get your facts straight

If you haven’t really consulted a varicose vein specialist about your varicose veins, your first step should be to do so. Call the best vein doctors in the Valley and schedule an appointment for a venous health screening.

The venous health screening takes only about an hour, it is non-invasive and completely painless. A screening can tell you exactly how serious your varicose veins are. This is the first thing you need to know when considering how best to treat them. Mild cases, for example, can often be treated using conservative treatment to control symptoms such as exercise, compression stockings, and lifestyle changes. More serious cases – especially if your personal goal is to eliminate the ugly, swollen veins – may require more aggressive treatment.

Step 2: Ask your CiC vein doctor to explain the treatment options

Your goal in this step should be to learn about and consider ALL of the varicose vein treatment options available to you. You want to learn as much as you can about how varicose veins are treated these days.

For example, you may have heard from a friend or colleague who had their varicose veins treated with techniques such as sclerotherapy. Sclerotherapy is a wonderful technique, it is minimally-invasive and requires no hospitalization or anesthesia.

But don’t stop researching there. There may be other forms of treatment that might be more appropriate for you, given your overall health and the extent of your vein disease. For example, many clients at our CiC vein clinics with larger varicose veins have found that Venaseal, radiofrequency ablation or endovenous laser ablation were more appropriate treatment options for them.

During the follow-up visits to your initial screening, you should ask your doctor about all of these options. If you want to learn more before then, visit the Vein Care section of our website beforehand.

Step 3: Decide which treatment is best, and follow through on your decision

Consult with one of our CiC vein experts such as Dr. Jeff Braxton, Dr. Karen Garby, or Dr. Michael Makki to determine the best treatment approach, and work with your doctors to create a personalized treatment plan.

More than one appointment may be necessary. However, you can rest assured that each of these appointments will be comfortable and efficient. The techniques involve minimally invasive treatments of varicose veins. It might take some weeks before the last remaining traces of them are gone. However they will be gone, and once a varicose vein has been removed, it doesn’t return, although some people do develop new varicose veins in the future.

Step 1 is still the most important, however. You’ve made your decision…now act on it. Pick up your telephone and dial 888-377-7122 or go online to schedule a Venous Health Screening and take that first step towards becoming free from your varicose veins today!

The post Ready to Seek Treatment for Your Vein Problems? Here’s How to Find the Best Varicose Vein Treatment Near You appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

People come into CiC complaining of chronic leg pain with swollen and achy legs, wondering what causes these symptoms. A CiC vein specialist can perform a comprehensive Venous Health Screening, which includes a complete physical examination, as well as use Doppler ultrasound to look beneath the surface of the skin. In many cases, we find that the cause of their symptoms is a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). CVI leads to abnormal or malfunctioning valves within the veins, that can lead to varicose veins.

“When we tell the patients this,” says Dr. Garby, “the phrase we hear over and over is, But…I’m too young to have varicose veins!”

At CiC, we hear this phrase from patients in their 40’s and 50’s, but also from much younger patients. And we understand their disbelief, because in some cases their varicose veins aren’t even visible on the surface of the skin, at least not yet. A thorough ultrasound analysis can clearly identify the presence of diseased veins beneath the skin surface, and that’s how we diagnose their condition.

Because this IS such a common response, we’ve decided to discuss the question of age and how it relates to varicose veins. We think that after reading this blog, you’ll be able to better understand who gets varicose veins. You’ll also learn why they get them and at what ages they get them. We hope this information will help you to seek and find the best varicose vein treatment near you.

No, you’re NOT too young to get varicose veins

The belief that varicose veins only happen to older people is widespread, but it is false. It’s true that most cases of varicose veins occur among older people. Statistically, over half of women over 65 have them, but fewer than 1 in 20 women under 24 have them. But…”1 in 20″ is still a large number, and we have seen cases of people developing varicose veins as early as their teens and early 20’s.

And no, they’re not just a “women’s problem” – men get varicose veins, too

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), varicose veins affect nearly 17% of men in the United States. Many of these men are developing varicose veins earlier in life, as well.

What people of all ages need to know about what causes varicose veins

So what causes varicose veins? In this section, we’ll talk about the things that increase a person’s risk of developing vein disease and varicose veins.

Your age IS an important factor to consider when assessing your vein disease risk, but it’s not the most important factor. That would probably be heredity. If both of your parents had varicose veins, you have a 90% chance of developing them yourself. If only one of your parents had them, you have a 60% chance of getting them if you’re female, and a 20% chance if you’re male.

Being overweight and/or not getting enough exercise also greatly increases your risk of developing varicose veins. Due to hormonal reasons, women have a higher varicose vein risk than men do. This risk increases after pregnancy and can worsen with every additional pregnancy. The risk is also increased if they use birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy.

These factors significantly increase your risk of developing varicose veins after the age of 60. However, they also increase that risk when you’re much younger. So no, even if you’re in your 30’s and 40’s, you’re not too young to have varicose veins.

Whatever your age, here’s how to find the best vein disease treatment in Tempe

So what do you DO about this? If you realize that because of heredity or lifestyle choices you’re at risk for developing varicose veins, what do you do about it?

The answer to this question is simple – give the vein experts at Comprehensive Integrated Care (CiC) a call at 888-377-7122 or go online to arrange a vein health screening with one of our vascular specialists like Dr. Karen Garby. Your first priority should be to find out exactly what your level of varicose vein risk actually IS.

If you know you have varicose veins, what steps should you take to find the best varicose vein treatment specialists near you? Again, we recommend that you give us a call at CiC, because our doctors are widely respected for providing the best vein disease treatment in the Valley. We specialize in minimally-invasive, non-surgical treatment procedures. These procedures not only remove the pain and discomfort of varicose veins, but remove the swollen veins themselves. These varicose vein removal treatments are so gentle that you can literally have your varicose veins removed on your lunch hour, and then walk out and return to work or home.

“So – however old you are – don’t feel bad about varicose veins,” says Dr. Garby.  And don’t feel that you have to “live with them.” You don’t. Modern varicose vein treatment options can eliminate varicose veins permanently, and at the same time eliminate the symptoms they often cause, such as leg pain and swelling. Give us a call or go online to schedule, and allow the best vein doctors in Phoenix to explain your treatment options to you. You’ll be glad you did!

The post I’m Too Young to Have Varicose Veins – How Do I Find the Best Varicose Vein Treatment Near Me? appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

If you are old enough to remember polio and smallpox, you might consider the elimination of those diseases important. Or you might consider organ transplants and modern heart surgery important.

In this article, vein specialists from the best vascular clinics in Tempe and Sun City will discuss two medical breakthroughs that have changed modern medicine drastically. However, they are less known by the general public. The breakthroughs we as vascular specialists have in mind are the tremendous improvements in the field of medical imaging and visualization. Specifically, the invention of minimally-invasive endovenous therapy, within the specialty of interventional radiology.

Modern medical imaging has made x-rays look old-fashioned

Don’t get us wrong…as doctors we know that the invention of x-rays in 1895 was a really big deal. It was a monumental breakthrough in the field of medicine. It was the first time that doctors could “look inside” the bodies of their patients without surgically opening them up. But x-rays, as important as they were to the progress of medicine, had some significant drawbacks. X-ray equipment itself is bulky and expensive and the radiation it produces can be dangerous if overused.

These drawbacks helped to make the invention of medical ultrasound and the field of diagnostic sonography the huge breakthroughs they have become. Ultrasound is a safe, inexpensive and portable technology used to “look inside” patients’ bodies to visualize and diagnose disease conditions. Instead of relying on x-ray radiation, an ultrasound device uses high-frequency sound. It beams these painless, harmless sound waves through the skin, and then records what happens to them as they bounce off of bones, organs, and tissue. A computer then analyzes these sound waves when they bounce back, “decoding” them to create a “map” of what is happening under the patient’s skin.

Since it was introduced, ultrasound has become a fundamental part of modern medicine. At CiC, our top Tempe and Sun City vein specialists use advanced Doppler ultrasound to not only see the structure of our patients’ veins, but the flow of blood within them. This enables us to detect blockages such as blood clots. It also allows us to easily and painlessly diagnose diseases such as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). CVI causes blood to flow back into the veins and pool there, leading to varicose veins.

The other breakthrough is interventional radiology – the science of minimally-invasive surgery

As doctors, we know that traditional invasive surgery is important. There are still many disease conditions that require it. But invasive surgery comes with risks. Large incisions can result in scarring, and recovering from them can require days or even weeks. Plus, the surgeries themselves must be performed in a hospital and under general anesthesia, which always involves some degree of risk.

The invention of portable ultrasound devices enabled surgeons to invent new ways of treating their patients’ disease without the need for invasive surgery. Instead of making large incisions, interventional radiologists insert small needles or catheters directly into a vein through a small puncture. Using ultrasound, they can then precisely guide the catheter into place inside the vein, to the exact location of a blockage or failure. Once it is in position, they can inject medicines to close a diseased varicose vein and eliminate it.

At CiC, we use these state-of-the-art techniques to provide vein disease treatment that can radically improve your life

Thanks to these two medical breakthroughs, modern vein disease treatment is fast and painless. Most of the procedures we perform can be completed in less than hour on an outpatient basis, in the comfort of our Tempe or Sun City vein clinics. CiC’s varicose vein treatment specialists can eliminate a patient’s swollen veins on their lunch hour. Our patients walk in with vein disease, and walk out without it. Now THAT is what we call a medical breakthrough!

If you would like us to explain more about these breakthrough medical procedures and what they can do for you, give us a call at 888-377-7122 or go online to set up a consultation and get the treatment process started. You’ll be glad you did.

The post The Best Vascular Clinic in Tempe and Sun City Explain Why Vein Disease Treatments Are Among the Decade’s Best Medical Breakthroughs appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

Many of our patients don’t realize this. The fact that they can walk into our CiC offices, have their varicose veins eliminated in minutes, and then walk out and return to work or home is something they take for granted. They assume that varicose vein treatment has always been this fast, effective, and painless.

But it hasn’t. In this article, the vascular experts at Comprehensive Integrated Care (CiC) explain what “treating varicose veins” used to be like. Then we’ll talk about what it is today. We think that when you understand how much vein treatment has improved in just a few years, you’ll better appreciate the care you receive at CiC.

What varicose vein removal was like a few decades ago

Most women (and men) who had varicose veins pretty much had to live with them. Conservative treatment such as wearing support stockings could help to minimize the symptoms, but couldn’t make the swollen veins go away. One of the only treatments that could remove varicose veins permanently was called “vein stripping.” And, yes, it was often as grueling as it sounds. A surgeon had to make incisions along the length of the diseased veins, and then literally scrape them out with a scalpel. Naturally, this had to be done in a hospital and under general anesthesia. As you can imagine, recovery from this procedure was long and painful. Also, the incisions often left scars that were as unattractive as the varicose veins had been.

Relax – modern varicose vein treatment at our CiC Tempe and Sun City locations isn’t anything like this

Among the advances in medicine that have been made since the age of “vein stripping,” two additional breakthroughs changed the nature of venous medicine forever. The first was the invention of ultrasound. Ultrasound gave doctors an inexpensive, portable technology to visualize diseased veins without breaking the skin to see them. This made possible a whole new way of diagnosing vein disease.

The second advance was the specialty of Interventional Radiology (IR). IR allows vascular doctors to treat varicose veins in a minimally-invasive manner. Instead of making incisions in the skin to expose the diseased veins, vein doctors can insert a tiny needle or catheter directly into the veins. They then guide it into place using ultrasound and use a number of techniques to seal the veins and close them permanently.

The advantages of this approach are obvious. Minimally-invasive procedures are so painless that in most cases only local anesthetics are needed. This means they can be performed in the comfort of your Tempe or Sun City vein clinics, with no need to go to a hospital. The procedures are so gentle that they require almost no “recovery time.” Most patients literally walk in, have their varicose veins treated in less than an hour, and walk out.

Modern varicose vein treatment options work better, too

Because there are no incisions, only a pin-prick, there is no scarring. Once the diseased veins are closed, they shrink, are absorbed into surrounding tissue, and disappear. Modern varicose vein removal is so effective that it has close to a 100% success rate.

Here are some of the treatment options we specialize in

At Comprehensive Integrated Care, vascular doctors like Dr. Karen Garby, Dr. Jeff Braxton, Dr James McEown and Dr Michael Makki are among Arizona’s most respected vascular specialists. They have years of experience performing a number of cutting-edge, IR-based varicose vein treatment options.

We’ll describe some of these procedures below, including links that will allow you to read more about them on our website if you want more information:

• Sclerotherapy. This technique is used to treat visible spider veins. With this procedure, we insert a very fine needle into the vein and inject a medication that causes the vein to close. The closed vein is then gradually absorbed by the body until all traces of the veins on the surface of the skin disappear. More than one session may be required.
• Radiofrequency Ablation. This procedure treats the underlying cause of bulging varicose veins. Using ultrasound, a catheter is inserted into the malfunctioning vein and radiofrequency energy is used to heat the vein, causing it to close. The blood is re-routed to normal, healthy veins and symptoms improve within days. 
• Endovenous Laser Ablation. Similar to radiofrequency ablation, a laser fiber is inserted into the malfunctioning vein. Laser energy is used to heat the vein, causing it to close. 
• Medical Adhesive (Like Super Glue). Finally, we are specialists in the use of the latest technique called Venaseal that uses a medical adhesive to close the malfunctioning vein. Benefits of this approach are that the glue sets within minutes, and there is no need for the heat associated with other types of treatment plus there is no need to wear compression stockings afterward.

If you want to learn more about these state-of-the-art varicose vein treatment options in Tempe or Sun City, give our specialists a call at 888-377-7122. Or go online on our CiC website to schedule an appointment. Our talented team of vein experts are happy to assist you.

The post Doctors from the Best Vascular Clinic in Tempe and Sun City Discuss the Variety of Modern Varicose Vein Treatments appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

The post The Top Five Questions about Varicose Veins, Answered by the Top Vein Specialists in Tempe appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

You may have been tempted to think, “Oh man, this must be what getting old feels like. I hate it, but I guess I’d better get used to it. After all, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

There IS something you can do about leg pain – find out what’s causing it

The best heart doctors in Arizona want you to know that these symptoms – and others, such as discoloration of the skin and sores on your legs and feet that don’t seem to heal – may NOT just be a “sign of aging.” They might be a sign that you have a disease that affects nearly 1 in 3 people your age: peripheral arterial disease, or PAD.

PAD is caused by the buildup of a sticky substance called plaque on the interior walls of your arteries. The official term for this plaque buildup is atherosclerosis, but you may have heard it called “hardening of the arteries.” And it’s a serious condition, not just a “sign of aging.” If peripheral arterial disease is left undiagnosed and untreated, it could increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, and even death.

So here’s the good news – diagnosing PAD is easy and painless

At Comprehensive Interventional Care Centers, we start with a physical examination. We look for weak pulses in your extremities or differences in your blood pressure when measured at your arm and at your ankle. If these tests indicate possible PAD, we perform a painless, non-invasive ultrasound arterial exam. This test looks beneath the surface of the skin and analyzes the blood flow visually. We can pinpoint the location and severity of any blockages.

If a diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease is still not clear, the interventional radiology specialists at CiC can actually look inside your arteries. We do this by means of a non-surgical, minimally invasive procedure called an angiogram.

More good news – if you do have PAD, it can be treated almost as easily

We try to treat minor cases of PAD with medication and lifestyle changes such as exercise, weight loss, and smoking cessation. Some people have a more advanced case of PAD, in which the blockages are becoming dangerous to their overall health. The best interventional cardiologists near you can use minimally invasive procedures such as angioplasty, atherectomy, or stent placement to clear the blockages from your arteries and restore proper blood flow.

But the first step is still to get a checkup, so call today!

The diagnostic procedures we’ve described above are fast, painless, and can be performed in the comfort of our CiC offices. So don’t put off getting a full vascular health checkup because you think your leg pain is due to aging. You just have to “live with it.” If it’s caused by peripheral arterial disease, you really don’t.

The post Best Heart Doctors in Arizona: I Think I Have Peripheral Arterial Disease appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

At Comprehensive Interventional Care Centers, we’re widely regarded as the best peripheral arterial disease specialists in Phoenix. We specialize in some of the most advanced, state-of-the-art interventional radiology procedures in the medical field. But interestingly enough, we usually don’t START our treatment of PAD with these procedures.

Instead, we often start our treatment regimen by recommending an approach that focuses on reducing the symptoms of PAD and keeping them from becoming worse – peripheral arterial disease natural treatment. We work with our patients to help them overcome habit patterns that not only helped to cause their peripheral arterial disease in the first place, but are helping to perpetuate it and make it worse. In many cases, this natural treatment can enable patients to reduce or eliminate their PAD symptoms, without the need for further treatment.

What is peripheral arterial disease natural treatment?

First, don’t be put off by the term “natural.” The conservative treatments we recommend don’t require you to search for herbs with strange-sounding names or drink teas made out of things you can’t identify. They’re simple, common-sense, science-backed recommendations that can reduce the risk factors that cause PAD instead of increasing them.

Some of the risk factors that lead to peripheral artery disease are things you can’t do anything about. For example, your age, and whether you have a personal or family history of cardiovascular disease. But other factors that cause PAD or make it worse ARE in your control, and you can eliminate them by making better lifestyle choices.

Examples of natural lifestyle modifications that can help to treat your PAD

• Quit smoking. If you still smoke cigarettes, STOP. Today. Continuing to smoke will not only make your PAD worse, it will harm your body in many other ways as well.
• Watch your diet. If you’re overweight, that’s a major risk factor for PAD, so talk to your doctors about ways to lose weight. They can also help you to find diet plans that include lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while cutting back on salt, sugar, alcohol, and saturated fats.
• Watch your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. High levels of all of three of these not only increase your risk of getting PAD, they contribute to making it worse. Follow your doctors’ instructions and take the medications they have prescribed to keep your blood pressure and cholesterol levels low. If you have diabetes, keep your blood sugar levels under control, because high blood sugar can make PAD
• Get more exercise. Yes, we know that the leg pain you experience as a result of your PAD makes it harder to But one of the best natural treatments for PAD is to exercise anyway. Start with walking – short distances at first, but increasing over time.
• Consider supervised exercise. Research has shown that one of the most effective natural ways to treat PAD is with a structured program of exercise. These supervised exercise programs are offered at many community centers or hospitals, and focus on helping you to gradually increase the time and distance you can comfortably walk on a treadmill or cycle on a stationary bike. The cost of these supervised exercise programs is usually covered by medical insurance.
• Take care of your feet and legs. Wash your feet and toes daily, and check them for any sores, bumps, or discolorations. Wear good shoes and visit your podiatrist regularly, to make sure that PAD is not causing foot problems that could become dangerous.

See? Most of these “natural treatment” suggestions are simple lifestyle changes that are under your control. But they’ll really help to keep your symptoms under control. If you’d like even more lifestyle suggestions that can help, or to have us develop a natural treatment regimen that is personalized for you, give our friendly and skilled team a call at 888-377-7122 or schedule an appointment online on our website. You’ll be glad you did!

The post How Changing Lifestyle Habits Is an Effective Peripheral Arterial Disease Natural Treatment appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

We do understand the confusion. These two terms sound similar, as if they’re describing the same disease or medical condition. It’s easy to mistake one term for the other, and use them as if they mean exactly the same thing.

In this article we’ll explain what these two terms really mean, and what makes them different from one another. We do this because we’ve noticed that NOT knowing the difference can cause people problems when they start looking things up on the Internet, or searching for the right type of doctor to treat their circulatory problems.

The difference between peripheral artery disease and peripheral vascular disease – the short, sweet explanation

It’s pretty simple, actually:

• Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is the name of one specific disease, a condition that affects only arteries, and primarily the arteries of the legs.
• Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is a generic “umbrella term” that describes a large number of circulatory diseases. These diseases affect not only arteries but also veins and lymphatic vessels. They can also appear in locations other than the legs, including the arms, neck, and face.

What is peripheral artery disease (PAD) – the slightly longer explanation

PAD (the specific disease) is caused by the buildup of a fatty, sticky substance called plaque on the inner surfaces of the arteries leading to your legs. This condition is known as atherosclerosis, but you may have also heard it referred to as “hardening of the arteries.”

No matter what you call it, it’s dangerous. The narrowing of the arteries restricts the amount of blood flowing to the legs, feet, and toes. Your lower extremities can’t get the oxygen and nutrients they need to stay healthy. So they begin to fail, in many ways. Common symptoms of PAD include leg pain, sores and wounds that won’t heal, and loss of mobility. Extreme symptoms of PAD include tissue death (gangrene), which can lead to amputation.

What is peripheral vascular disease (PVD) – the much longer explanation

As noted above, PVD refers to a number of different conditions. Some of them also affect arteries. Blockage to the coronary arteries feeding the heart, for example, can cause angina or a heart attack. Blockage in arteries feeding the kidneys can cause high blood pressure and heart failure. If arteries leading to the brain become blocked, the result can be a stroke or transient ischemic attack.

It’s important to remember, however, that peripheral vascular disease is a “group term,” and also involves diseases that affect the veins. The most common of these vein diseases is venous insufficiency, which can lead to varicose veins, in which the affected veins become swollen and discolored. More serious vein diseases can be caused by thrombosis, which is the formation of blood clots. These clots impair proper blood flow, just as atherosclerosis does, but they are in many ways more dangerous because they may not stay where they formed. With deep vein thrombosis (DVT), the clots can break off from where they started and travel to the lungs. This can lead to a pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal.

There are many other types of circulatory disease contained under the PVD “umbrella.” Aneurysms are bulges that form in the walls of blood vessels, and that can become dangerous. Lymphedema is a condition that blocks the lymph vessels and keeps them from draining fluid from tissues and supplying them with immune cells.

Why it’s important to know the difference between PAD and PVD

The difference between these two terms starts to affect you personally when you go to the Internet to look up information about them, or seek doctors who can treat them. What you’ll find is that many websites aren’t careful about making a distinction between PAD (the disease) and PVD (a whole range of diseases).

This can lead to confusion. If you have been diagnosed with PAD (the specific disease) for example, and go to Google looking for the best doctors who treat it in your area, it’s not going to help to be referred to doctors who may treat PVD (the larger group of diseases), but who may have little expertise in treating peripheral artery disease per se.

At Comprehensive Interventional Care Centers, we are famous for providing the best peripheral arterial disease treatment in Arizona. Some of our doctors also treat vein diseases and other forms of peripheral vascular disease. But if you’re looking for someone who really knows PAD and specializes in treating it, that’s us. Give us a call at 888-377-7122 and make an appointment to speak with our talented team of PAD experts.

The post Peripheral Artery Disease Vs. Peripheral Vascular Disease: What’s the Difference? appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

All PAD treatment options have the goal of controlling negative symptoms. At the same time, they try to slow the progression of the disease so that it doesn’t get any worse.

Some of these treatment options – called “conservative” or “natural” treatments – try to control symptoms through changes in your diet, exercise, and lifestyle. In other words, they involve as little direct medical intervention as possible. These natural treatment options do work for many patients, allowing them to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of their disease. They often help to stop the buildup of arterial plaque that narrows their arteries and causes the disease in the first place.

However, for other patients, more aggressive treatments are needed. These patients tend to either have more serious symptoms when they are first diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease, or they develop them later. The treatment options for these patients aim at physically removing the blockages to the arteries. These treatment options include minimally-invasive endovascular procedures such as balloon angioplasty, stent placement, or atherectomy.

So what determines which options are best for you, to most successfully treat your PAD? In this article, the best peripheral arterial disease specialists in Phoenix explain what we look at when we make a treatment recommendation.

The first question, of course, is “What are your symptoms?”

When a patient approaches us or is referred to us, we take the time to learn their medical history and do a focused examination. Our aim is to determine the best non-invasive study to be able to diagnose the problem as efficiently as possible. Many people with PAD have no symptoms at all. Others experience mild symptoms such as leg pain (claudication) and impaired mobility. Still others can have very strong symptoms that require more extensive treatment. These symptoms include leg pain that doesn’t stop even when at rest, sores on the legs and feet that don’t heal, or areas of coldness or numbness in the lower extremities.

If your PAD symptoms fall into the last category, they may indicate that you have or are in danger of developing critical ischemia (CI). This is a life-threatening condition that needs to be treated immediately, and aggressively. Advanced cases of PAD such as this can cause gangrene. If we don’t catch them in time, the result can be amputation. These advanced cases can also cause sepsis. Sepsis is a form of infection in which the body starts attacking its own tissues and organs. In severe cases like this, we would NOT recommend conservative treatment. What is needed is immediate intervention, before the disease becomes life-threatening.

Most of the time, however, we try to start with natural treatment

We will give you diet and exercise recommendations that will help you change your lifestyle. These lifestyle changes can help to minimize the impact that PAD is having on your circulation and your overall health. We can also help you to stop smoking, if needed. Quitting smoking alone will improve your vascular health. If you have high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol levels, or high blood sugar, we can treat these risk factors with medication. The medications help to control these risk factors so that they aren’t making your PAD any worse.

The next step in this natural treatment – and the most important – is to perform regular follow-up tests to see if natural treatment is working. If it is, and your symptoms are improving, that’s a good sign. If they’re getting better, we may decide that more aggressive treatment is not needed at this time. You can safely continue with the natural treatment. If your symptoms DON’T get better, however, or if tests indicate that the blockages are getting worse, we may recommend endovascular treatment.

One factor that can make conservative treatment NOT a good choice for you

Conservative treatment of PAD can work wonders, and quickly bring the disease under control. There is one problem with these lifestyle changes, however. You actually have to follow the recommendations before they work.

One of the reasons that supervised exercise programs are more successful at treating PAD than “exercising at home, on your own,” is that people don’t usually exercise at home on their own. Or they don’t exercise regularly enough for it to have any effect. Exercising with others can be more motivating. And even though quitting smoking is one of the most effective things people can do to treat their PAD, a lot of people find it too hard quit on their own and need additional help.

So, when considering whether natural or conservative treatment is a “good fit” for you, try to be honest with yourself as to whether you would actually follow the dietary, exercise, and lifestyle recommendations this treatment involves. If you suspect that you wouldn’t, natural treatment might not be the best option for you.

We can help you decide, and help you follow through. That, after all, is our job. We provide the best peripheral arterial disease treatment in Arizona, and we’re proud of our ability to do so. So give us a call at 888-377-7122 and let us help you find the best PAD treatment option, the one that is most likely to be successful for you.

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