There are 2 main areas of vascular disease that are common. Arterial disease (stroke, gangrene, kidney failure, etc) and venous disease (deep vein thrombosis, varicose veins, etc). Arterial disease is usually more serious and maintaining good health can go a long way in preventing or minimizing the effects of arterial disease.
Common arterial pathologies we treat include peripheral arterial disease with gangrene/ischaemia, kidney failure, aneurysms and stroke. Medical risk factors responsible include diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and smoking. Technological advancements in the field have revolutionized our ability to surgically treat patients and different pathologies – endovascular stenting of aneurysms, atherectomy devices for occluded lower limb vessels, endovenous intervention for varicose veins.
However, maintaining good vascular health can minimise the risk of you requiring intervention. This would include:
- tight glucose control and regular HbA1c checks for diabetes
- optimal blood pressure control
- healthy diet and use of statins for hypercholesterolaemia
- smoking cessation
- regular exercise
It is more important to maintain vascular health, than treat the disease once it is established. The most important key is to control your risk factors well in order to prevent complications related to chronic illnesses.
Maintaining vascular health means a better quality of life.