Diagnosis
How We Can Help You
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD), also called peripheral arterial disease (PAD), is a condition in which in which narrowed blood vessels outside the heart cannot deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to the body. If left untreated, PVD can cause chronic wounds on the limbs and increases the risk of heart attack or stroke.
At Stanford, we pioneer many of the most successful techniques and treatments to care for patients with PVD. Through our research and clinical experience, our doctors have developed leading-edge approaches using the most advanced techniques and tools available for PVD.
Expert specialists in cardiology, vascular surgery, interventional radiology, and other disciplines work together to provide a treatment plan that meets your needs and helps you live your best life.
What We Offer You For Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)
- Specialized expertise in diagnosing and treating PVD at our Vascular and Endovascular Clinic, a nationally recognized Vascular Center of Excellence.
- Collaborative approach that brings together specialists from cardiology, orthopaedics, electrophysiology, and vascular surgery to tailor your care.
- Access to innovative diagnostic tests, such as intravascular ultrasound, that are rarely found at other vascular clinics.
- Support services including counseling from behavioral psychologists and specialized care coordinated with Stanford’s Extremity Preservation Program.
- Active research that provides new tools and treatments (such as vascular regeneration via stem cells) for treating PVD.
Treatment for Peripheral Vascular Disease
We provide a comprehensive approach to diagnosing and treating PVD. First, we use sophisticated, noninvasive diagnostic tests to get a diagnosis so we can begin your treatment immediately.
For people who have peripheral vascular disease, we have two main goals for your care:
- Optimize treatment and management of atherosclerosis to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke
- Relieve pain and other PVD symptoms and preserve the affected limb
Our surgeons have the expertise to treat PVD, performing more than 1,200 major vascular procedures each year
Treatment Overview
Specialized Care for Women
Depending on the severity of the condition, treatment options may range from managing risk factors (through lifestyle changes and medications) to procedures or surgery to improve blood flow.
Lifestyle Modifications
For some people with PVD, healthy lifestyle changes may be enough to prevent the condition from worsening. Our behavioral psychologists who specialize in heart disease will support you and help you make changes, including:
- Quitting smoking
- Eating more healthfully
- Exercising
- Sleeping better
- Relieving stress
- Practicing mindfulness
Medication
Your doctor may prescribe drugs to help improve blood flow, including blood thinners or medications that relax the blood vessel walls.
Treatment of conditions that contribute to PVD
Other medical conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, may cause PVD to progress. Your provider will work with other specialists to help you manage those conditions.
Surgery
If arteries or veins are significantly blocked and blood flow to areas of the body (usually the legs) is restricted, we may perform a surgical procedure to open up the blockage and preserve function of the limb. At Stanford, our surgeons use the most sophisticated techniques and technology to provide the least invasive options possible, including:
- Balloon angioplasty: The surgeon inserts a special catheter (a long, flexible tube) with a balloon tip into the blocked blood vessel. The balloon inflates to compress the fatty tissue (plaque) in the vessel and widen the opening for improved blood flow. Our surgeons also use the latest technology, including drug-eluting balloons that help prevent recurrence.
- Stents: After an angioplasty, the surgeon may place a small coil, called a stent, into the blood vessel to keep the artery open.
- Atherectomy: This procedure removes plaque from a blood vessel by shaving it with tiny rotating blades or vaporizing it using a laser on the end of the catheter.
- Bypass: The surgeon creates a new pathway for blood to go around the blocked or narrowed segment of the artery.
Limb Preservation
Because PVD often affects the limbs, we work closely with the specialists from our Advanced Wound Care Center and Stanford Extremity Preservation Program (StEPP). These programs provide a team approach to care for people with complicated cases. Our specialists in vascular surgery, wound care, plastic surgery, orthopaedics, and infectious disease help prevent infection and preserve limbs and their function.
Support services
At Stanford, we are by your side every step of the way. Some of our resources include help with:
- Behavior modification: To help you with any lifestyle changes you may need to make to control PVD, you will meet regularly with a behavioral psychologist, nutritionist, or smoking cessation specialist.
- Lifestyle modification technology: We will help you use tools, such as apps and wearable devices, to support healthy habits, including eating healthfully, reducing stress, and exercising regularly.
At Stanford, specialists at our Women’s Heart Health Clinic specifically focus on the health needs of women with PVD. We have vast experience successfully treating the disease and maintaining your best quality of life.
We recognize the unique concerns that women face, including:
Diagnosis
At many other hospitals, doctors may not consider PVD testing in women, because historically, the condition was thought to affect men more than women. However, increasing research has shown that postmenopausal women have the same risk of the disease as men.
If PVD is overlooked, you may not receive the correct diagnosis, which could delay critical treatment. At Stanford, our doctors actively look for and successfully diagnose PVD in women using the latest noninvasive tests and technology.
Advanced stages
Many women with peripheral vascular disease receive the diagnosis later in life when the disease is more advanced. At that point, PVD may affect multiple limbs, and the risk for heart attack and stroke is greater.
Treatment
In advanced stages of PVD, women may not respond as well to treatment. That’s why we take a multidisciplinary approach to treating PVD here at Stanford. We bring together specialists from cardiology, orthopaedics, electrophysiology, and vascular surgery, among others, to determine the best care and treatment plan for you.
In general, the treatment options for PVD in men and women are the same: lifestyle modifications, medications, and surgery. To customize care for women, we may have to use a different combination of treatment options. Because women have smaller arteries and veins than men, we use special tools to treat women surgically. We also have ongoing clinical trials to help us learn more about how PVD affects women and the best treatment options for them.
Depending on the severity of the condition, treatment options may range from managing risk factors (through lifestyle changes and medications) to procedures or surgery to improve blood flow.
Lifestyle Modifications
For some people with PVD, healthy lifestyle changes may be enough to prevent the condition from worsening. Our behavioral psychologists who specialize in heart disease will support you and help you make changes, including:
- Quitting smoking
- Eating more healthfully
- Exercising
- Sleeping better
- Relieving stress
- Practicing mindfulness
Medication
Your doctor may prescribe drugs to help improve blood flow, including blood thinners or medications that relax the blood vessel walls.
Treatment of conditions that contribute to PVD
Other medical conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, may cause PVD to progress. Your provider will work with other specialists to help you manage those conditions.
Surgery
If arteries or veins are significantly blocked and blood flow to areas of the body (usually the legs) is restricted, we may perform a surgical procedure to open up the blockage and preserve function of the limb. At Stanford, our surgeons use the most sophisticated techniques and technology to provide the least invasive options possible, including:
- Balloon angioplasty: The surgeon inserts a special catheter (a long, flexible tube) with a balloon tip into the blocked blood vessel. The balloon inflates to compress the fatty tissue (plaque) in the vessel and widen the opening for improved blood flow. Our surgeons also use the latest technology, including drug-eluting balloons that help prevent recurrence.
- Stents: After an angioplasty, the surgeon may place a small coil, called a stent, into the blood vessel to keep the artery open.
- Atherectomy: This procedure removes plaque from a blood vessel by shaving it with tiny rotating blades or vaporizing it using a laser on the end of the catheter.
- Bypass: The surgeon creates a new pathway for blood to go around the blocked or narrowed segment of the artery.
Limb Preservation
Because PVD often affects the limbs, we work closely with the specialists from our Advanced Wound Care Center and Stanford Extremity Preservation Program (StEPP). These programs provide a team approach to care for people with complicated cases. Our specialists in vascular surgery, wound care, plastic surgery, orthopaedics, and infectious disease help prevent infection and preserve limbs and their function.
Support services
At Stanford, we are by your side every step of the way. Some of our resources include help with:
- Behavior modification: To help you with any lifestyle changes you may need to make to control PVD, you will meet regularly with a behavioral psychologist, nutritionist, or smoking cessation specialist.
- Lifestyle modification technology: We will help you use tools, such as apps and wearable devices, to support healthy habits, including eating healthfully, reducing stress, and exercising regularly.
close Treatment Overview
At Stanford, specialists at our Women’s Heart Health Clinic specifically focus on the health needs of women with PVD. We have vast experience successfully treating the disease and maintaining your best quality of life.
We recognize the unique concerns that women face, including:
Diagnosis
At many other hospitals, doctors may not consider PVD testing in women, because historically, the condition was thought to affect men more than women. However, increasing research has shown that postmenopausal women have the same risk of the disease as men.
If PVD is overlooked, you may not receive the correct diagnosis, which could delay critical treatment. At Stanford, our doctors actively look for and successfully diagnose PVD in women using the latest noninvasive tests and technology.
Advanced stages
Many women with peripheral vascular disease receive the diagnosis later in life when the disease is more advanced. At that point, PVD may affect multiple limbs, and the risk for heart attack and stroke is greater.
Treatment
In advanced stages of PVD, women may not respond as well to treatment. That’s why we take a multidisciplinary approach to treating PVD here at Stanford. We bring together specialists from cardiology, orthopaedics, electrophysiology, and vascular surgery, among others, to determine the best care and treatment plan for you.
In general, the treatment options for PVD in men and women are the same: lifestyle modifications, medications, and surgery. To customize care for women, we may have to use a different combination of treatment options. Because women have smaller arteries and veins than men, we use special tools to treat women surgically. We also have ongoing clinical trials to help us learn more about how PVD affects women and the best treatment options for them.
close Specialized Care for Women
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials.
At Stanford, we are at the forefront of new technology to treat peripheral vascular disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved tools pioneered through clinical trials here, including balloon catheters and stents that continuously release PVD medication.
Open trials refer to studies currently accepting participants. Closed trials are not currently enrolling but may open in the future.
To learn more about the clinical trials we offer, contact NAME at PHONE NUMBER.
What is Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)?
Our Clinics
In our clinic, a nationally recognized Vascular Center of Excellence, our interdisciplinary team of cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and wound care specialists excel in designing innovative solutions to treat challenging vascular problems.
3rd Floor, A32
Stanford, CA 94305
Phone: 650-725-5227 Getting Here
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2nd Floor, Room A260
Stanford, CA 94305
Phone: 650-725-5909
To schedule an appointment, please call: 650-725-5227