Many Americans are familiar with heart disease and the consequences of blockages in the vessels carrying blood to and from the heart. Very few people realize that blockages caused by a buildup of plaque and cholesterol affect more than coronary arteries. Arteries throughout the body carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart, so blockages can occur in all arteries with serious effects. Three of the most recognized vascular diseases include:

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is an enlargement or “bulge” that develops in a weakened area within the largest artery in the abdomen. The pressure generated by each heartbeat pushes against the weakened aortic wall, causing the aneurysm to enlarge. If the AAA remains undetected, the aortic wall continues to weaken, and the aneurysm continues to grow. Eventually, the aneurysm becomes so large, and its wall so weak, that rupture occurs. When this happens there is massive internal bleeding, a situation that is usually fatal. The only way to break this cycle is to find the AAA before it ruptures.

Carotid Artery Disease – Stroke

Carotid arteries occur when the main blood vessels to the brain develop a buildup of plaque caused by atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. When the buildup becomes very severe, it can cause a stroke. A stroke occurs when part of the brain is damaged by these vascular problems; in fact, 80 percent of strokes are “ischemic strokes” where part of the circulation to the brain is cut off, usually due to blockages in the carotid arteries. The process is similar to the buildup of plaque in arteries in the heart that causes heart attacks. Strokes are the third leading cause of death in the United States according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Peripheral Arterial Disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) occurs when atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, causes a buildup of plaque in the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to all the tissues of the body. As these plaques worsen, they reduce essential blood flow to the limbs and can even cause complete blockages of the arteries. Early on, PAD may only cause difficulty walking, but in its most severe forms, it can cause painful foot ulcers, infections, and even gangrene, which could require amputation. People with PAD are three times more likely to die of heart attacks or strokes than those without PAD.

Vascular Medicine Specialists are highly trained to treat diseases of the vascular system. Your blood vessels –arteries carrying oxygen-rich blood and veins carrying blood back to the heart — are the roadways of your circulatory system. Without smoothly flowing blood, your body cannot function. Conditions such as hardening of the arteries can create “traffic jams” in your circulatory system, obstructing the flow of blood to any part of the body.

A vascular medicine specialist does not perform open surgery but focuses on conservative and minimally invasive therapies.

A vascular medicine specialist makes sure patients with vascular health issues know and understand all their options. In short, vascular medicine specialists do not do open surgery, but they see and treat many patients who don’t require surgery. Many vascular problems can be treated conservatively with nutrition, medications, exercise and other life style modifications.

A vascular medicine specialist is able to do minimally invasive and office based procedure.

Vascular medicine specialist are trained in medical therapy of vascular disease and collaborate with other vascular specialists and together can cover the needs of their patients such as: open, complicated surgery and in minimally invasive, endovascular procedures and well as non-invasive therapy. Some patients need one, some need the other, while many need no surgery at all. Vascular medicine specialists are “treatment agnostic,” that is, they don’t prefer any kind of treatment over another. Patients can be assured they will get the best treatment for their particular need.

A vascular specialist builds relationships with patients.

A vascular medicine specialist may be someone who treats you on an ongoing basis for decades and very often has long-term relationships with patients because vascular disease can be a long-term condition. If you have vascular disease, you can trust a vascular medicine specialist to care about your long term health and to consider all your options.

Vascular medicine specialists manage veins and arteries in every part of the body except the heart.

For example, vascular medicine specialist can help manage blocked carotid arteries in the neck. They treat the problems of the aorta (a large main artery) after it leaves the heart and enters the abdomen. Peripheral vascular disease, which often affects the arteries in the legs and feet, also is treated by a vascular medicine specialists.

How do I know I need to see a vascular medicine specialist?

Typically, patients are referred to a Vascular Medicine specialist by their primary care physician or by another specialist. Sometimes patients become acquainted with a vascular medicine specialist after an unexpected event lands them in the hospital. You might be referred to a vascular medicine specialist if you see your regular doctor for pain in your legs, and learn that you have peripheral arterial disease (PAD), for example. If you are in a high PAD risk category: are age is 65 or above, a smoker, diabetic, and/or have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, you may want to consider PAD screening test.

Your vascular system is made up of vessels that carry your blood throughout your body. Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood away from your heart. Veins carry oxygen-poor blood back to your heart. Your blood leaves the left side of the heart and is pumped out to the rest of your body.

The main artery from your heart is called the aorta. As your blood travels throughout your body, it enters smaller and smaller blood vessels, reaching every cell, dropping off nutrients and picking up waste products and carbon dioxide.

Your blood then starts the trip back in your veins, entering larger and larger ones as it goes, passing through your kidneys and liver on the way to drop off waste products. The blood eventually arrives back at the right side of your heart to start the trip all over again.

As we age, our arteries tend to thicken, get stiffer, and narrow. This is called arteriosclerosis. A form of arteriosclerosis is atherosclerosis, which is the build-up of plaque and cholesterol in large and medium-sized arteries. A narrowing of the arteries from the build-up of plaque can lead to coronary heart disease, and can cause a heart attack when this occurs in the blood vessels leading to the heart.

The same situation in the arteries leading to the brain can cause strokes. Narrowing of the arteries in other places, such as your legs, can cause what is called Peripheral Arterial Disease, or PAD. PAD can lead to sores, pain with walking, or amputation. When the smaller arteries are affected it is called arteriolosclerosis.