A Simple Guide to Peripheral Vascular Disease, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Peripheral Vascular Disease, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Peripheral Vascular disease (PVD) is the narrowing, blockage or spasm of blood vessels in the arms, abdomen and legs (peripheral blood vessels).

Blood vessels are:
1. Arteries (except pulmonary artery) transport oxygenated blood and
2. Veins (except pulmonary vein) transport de-oxygenated blood.

PVD normally produces pain and fatigue, often in the legs, and especially during exercise.

The pain normally improves with rest.

It can also involve the vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the:
1. Arms
2. Stomach and intestines
3. Kidneys

In PVD, blood vessels become narrowed and blood flow reduces.

This can be caused by arteriosclerosis or by blood vessel spasms.

In arteriosclerosis, plaques build up in a vessel and limit the flow of blood and oxygen to the organs and limbs.

As plaque growth advances, blood clots may develop and entirely block the artery.

Constriction of arteries and veins leads to artery disease which produces less oxygenated blood to flow to the different parts of the body leading to cell or tissue death.

This can cause organ injury and loss of fingers, toes, or limbs, if left untreated.

The result is gangrene, which is a disorder in which the cells and tissues of the body extremities die.

When this happens, amputation of those parts of the body may need to be done.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is produced only in the arteries, which transport oxygen-rich blood away from the heart.

PAD is the most frequent form of PVD, so the terms are often used to mean the same disorder.

The types of PVD are:

1. Functional PVD means there’s no physical damage to the blood vessels’ structure.

The vessels naturally widen and narrow in reaction to the environment.

But in functional PVD, the vessels exaggerate their reaction.

The most frequent causes of functional PVD are:
1. Emotional stress
2. Cold temperatures
3. Operating vibrating machinery or tools
4. Drugs

2. Organic PVD involves alterations in blood vessel structure like inflammation, plaques, and tissue damage.

The plaque buildup from arteriosclerosis can produce the blood vessels to narrow.

The primary causes of organic PVD are:
1. Smoking
2. High blood pressure
3. Diabetes
4. High cholesterol

Additional causes of organic PVD are extreme injuries, muscles or ligaments with abnormal structures, blood vessel inflammation, and infection.

The most frequent symptom of PVD and PAD is intermittent claudication.

Claudication is lower limb muscle pain when walking.

The patient may notice the pain when the patient is walking faster or for long distances.

It normally goes away after some rest.

Diagnosis is by angiography where the flow of dye through blood vessels can locate the clogged artery

First-line treatment normally involves lifestyle modifications such as avoiding smoking, walking, a balanced diet, and losing weight.

Medicines for Peripheral Vascular Disease are:

Cilostazol or Naftidrofuryl to elevate blood flow and relieve symptoms of claudication

Vascular surgery permits blood to bypass the narrow area through vein grafting

Angioplasty is when the doctor inserts a catheter with a balloon on the tip of the catheter can dilate and widen the artery.

A small wire tube in the artery called a stent (with drug-eluting) helps to keep it open

A new treatment for PVD is the use of growth factor (genes, proteins) and cell therapy

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Peripheral Vascular Disease
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Deep Vein Thrombosis
Chapter 8 Blood Clot in Lungs
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Oct 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005350703

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Peripheral Vascular Disease,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2021 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Peripheral Vascular Disease, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Peripheral Vascular Disease)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Peripheral Vascular Disease

What is Peripheral Vascular Disease?

Peripheral Vascular disease (PVD) is the narrowing, blockage or spasm of blood vessels in the arms, abdomen and legs (peripheral blood vessels).

The blood vessels in the body are essential for the transport of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.

Blood vessels are:

1. Arteries (except pulmonary artery) transport oxygenated blood and

2. Veins (except pulmonary vein) transport de-oxygenated blood.

PVD normally produces pain and fatigue, often in the legs, and especially during exercise.

The pain normally improves with rest.

It can also involve the vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the:

1. Arms

2. Stomach and intestines

3. Kidneys

In PVD, blood vessels become narrowed and blood flow reduces.

This can be caused by arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, or it can be produced by blood vessel spasms.

In arteriosclerosis, plaques build up in a vessel and limit the flow of blood and oxygen to the organs and limbs.

As plaque growth advances, blood clots may develop and entirely block the artery.

Constriction of arteries and veins leads to artery disease which produces less oxygenated blood to flow to the different parts of the body leading to cell or tissue death.

This can cause organ injury and loss of fingers, toes, or limbs, if left untreated.

The result is gangrene, which is a disorder in which the cells and tissues of the body extremities die.

When this happens, amputation of those parts of the body may need to be done.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is produced only in the arteries, which transport oxygen-rich blood away from the heart.

PVD is the most frequent form of PVD, so the terms are often used to mean the same disorder.

PVD is also known as:

1. Arteriosclerosis obliterans

2. Arterial insufficiency of the legs

3. Intermittent claudication

What are the types of PVD?

The two main types of PVD are:

1. Functional PVD means there’s no physical damage to the blood vessels’ structure.

Instead, the vessels widen and narrow in reaction to other factors like brain signals and temperature alterations.

The narrowing produces blood flow to reduce.

2. Organic PVD involves alterations in blood vessel structure like inflammation, plaques, and tissue damage.

What are the Causes of Peripheral Vascular Disease?

Causes

Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) can be classified into:

A. Functional PVD

The vessels naturally widen and narrow in reaction to the environment.

But in