Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)
Peripheral Vascular Disease Care at UVM Health
Peripheral vascular disease occurs when the blood vessels outside your heart narrow, spasm or become blocked.
Many people use the terms peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) interchangeably. PVD may affect either your arteries or veins and has a variety of causes. PAD is a type of peripheral vascular disease that occurs when a fatty substance called plaque builds up in your arteries, restricting blood flow to your legs.
Why Choose UVM Health?
At University of Vermont Health, you receive specialized treatment for peripheral vascular disease. With our network of heart and vascular locations across Vermont and northern New York, you’re never far from the expert care you need.
As one of the leading vascular programs in the region, we offer:
- Expert physicians: As a health system anchored by an academic medical center, our physicians are active researchers and physician-leaders. Our specialized physicians provide expert treatment with excellent outcomes that typically meet or exceed national benchmarks.
- Advanced treatments: We offer a range of surgical options and use minimally invasive endovascular techniques whenever possible to help you recover more quickly with lower complication rates.
- Coordinated care: Thanks to our many locations across the region, you have convenient access to our network of experts, including vascular surgeons who provide specialized care for peripheral vascular disease. We work closely and coordinate network referrals quickly so that you get the care you need, when and where you need it.
Types of Peripheral Vascular Disease
We have the expertise to treat the two types of peripheral vascular disease:
- Functional PVD: There’s no damage to your blood vessels. Instead, your blood vessels constrict or spasm in response to external factors like stress, smoking or cold temperatures.
- Occlusive PVD: The blood vessels are damaged. Often, PVD occurs because of atherosclerosis, a condition in which plaque builds up and narrows your blood vessels.
Risk Factors for Peripheral Vascular Disease
Peripheral vascular disease can affect anyone, but some people are more likely to develop the condition. You have a higher risk of PVD if you have:
- Coronary artery disease
- Diabetes
- Family history of peripheral vascular disease or atherosclerosis
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
Your risk also increases if you are:
- A smoker
- Inactive
- Male or postmenopausal female
- Older than 50
Symptoms of Peripheral Vascular Disease
In the early stages of PVD, you may have no symptoms. The disease is progressive, meaning you experience worsening symptoms over time. Symptoms may include:
- Leg pain and cramping while exercising (claudication)
- Leg or foot pain while at rest
- Numbness, heaviness or weakness in the legs and feet
- Open sores (ulcers) on the legs or feet that won’t heal
- Skin changes, such as shiny, reddish or blue, or very cold skin on the legs and feet
- Weak or no pulse in the legs or feet
Wellness & Prevention
Evidence shows that proactive health care focused on preventing illness leads to better outcomes. We're here to help you live a healthier, happier life. We offer wellness and prevention services to empower you to take control of your health.
Diagnosing Peripheral Vascular Disease
Accurately diagnosing peripheral vascular disease helps your provider create an effective treatment plan. Specialists across UVM Health use a range of noninvasive tests to provide a comprehensive, accurate diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease, including:
- Ankle-brachial index (ABI): This test compares the blood pressure in your ankle with the blood pressure in your arm. It helps your provider evaluate blood circulation in your legs.
- Duplex ultrasound: Your provider uses high-frequency sound waves to show the structure of your blood vessels and how blood moves through them.
- Pulse volume recording: This test uses an ultrasound to measure the volume of blood at several points in your legs.
- Skin perfusion test (TcPO2): Your provider uses an inflatable cuff and special sensors to measure blood pressure and oxygen levels in your legs.
- Stress test: This test evaluates how your heart and blood vessels respond to the stress of exercise.
When needed, we also may use interventional techniques, including:
- Angiogram: Your provider inserts a thin, flexible tube (catheter) into a blood vessel in your leg. They inject a contrast dye through the catheter that highlights your arteries and veins on an X-ray.
- CT angiogram: Your provider performs an angiogram with CT imaging, which uses a series of X-rays and specialized computers.
- Magnetic resonance angiogram: Your provider performs an angiogram with MRIs, which uses magnets and radio waves.
Peripheral Vascular Disease Treatment
The main goals of PVD treatment are to improve blood flow, lower your risk of complications and improve your quality of life. At UVM Health, an entire team of heart and vascular specialists is ready to care for you. We collaborate to ensure that you have access to the timely treatment you need.
Treatment for peripheral vascular disease may include:
If you have mild to moderate PVD, your symptoms may be controlled through lifestyle changes, such as:
- Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight
- Eating a nutritious diet
- Exercising regularly
- Quitting smoking
These lifestyle changes can often help you improve your risk profile by lowering blood pressure or cholesterol. They may also help you manage underlying diseases, such as diabetes.
You may take medications to improve blood flow, reduce PVD symptoms, prevent complications or treat underlying diseases. For example, blood thinners reduce your risk of blood clots and improve blood flow. Statins may help lower your cholesterol.
If there are severe blockages in your blood vessels that aren’t helped by lifestyle changes or medication, you may need surgery. Our vascular surgeons offer two procedures for peripheral vascular disease:
- Angioplasty and stenting: Your surgeon inserts a catheter with a balloon at the tip into one of your blood vessels. They guide the catheter to the blocked blood vessel, then inflate the balloon to clear plaque and widen the blood vessel. They often place a small mesh tube (stent) in the blood vessel to keep it open long term.
- Bypass surgery: Your surgeon uses a blood vessel from another part of the body or a synthetic graft to create a new route for blood to flow around the blocked vessel. Bypass surgery is typically an open surgery.
Locations Near You
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75 Park Street
Elizabethtown, NY 12932
101 Adirondack Drive
Suite 1
Ticonderoga, NY 12883
62 Tilley Drive
Suite 101
South Burlington, VT 05403-4407
115 Porter Drive
Middlebury, VT 05753-8527
111 Colchester Avenue
Main Campus, Main Pavilion, Level 5
Burlington, VT 05401-1473
