Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a condition in which arteries in the arm, leg, neck, or near the kidneys are blocked by plaque and circulation decreases. PAD affects more than 8 million Americans, and as you age, your chances of developing PAD increase. Approximately 12 to 20 percent of patients diagnosed with PAD are 65 years or older. Left untreated, PAD can lead to heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, kidney failure, heart disease, or heart failure. Many people with PAD often do not experience any symptoms. When symptoms occur, they include pain or discomfort in your calves or thighs when walking, and often stopping when you stop walking. Or you may experience pain in the arches of your feet or in your toes when you are lying down.
When you visit the Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute for treatment of PAD, you are putting yourself in extremely capable hands. The physicians at the Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute take a unique multidisciplinary approach to provide you with the best care available today for PAD. Drs. Iyer, Rosen, and Green lead a team of preeminent physicians, which includes some of the leading specialists in treating PAD. The group of physicians brings a combined 60 years of experience to the management of patients with PAD. This team offers patients the best interventional therapies available. Their areas of expertise include PAD of the following arteries:
- Brachiocephalic (leading from the heart to the head);
- Iliac and femoral (supplies the arms and legs);
- Mesenteric (supplies the intestines with blood); and
- Renal (supplies the kidneys).
The physicians have special expertise in managing complex interventions below the knee, known as the infrapopliteal region. In addition, the group has a special interest in the latest techniques and technologies for repairing extremely severe, diffuse, and completely blocked arteries. They have found that combining interventional-based catheter techniques and minimally invasive surgical procedures can succeed where other attempts have failed.
Treatment for PAD depends on your symptoms, test results, and which arteries are blocked. Medications, such as lipid-lowering drugs, may be prescribed. More aggressive treatment is often necessary, such as:
- Angioplasty;
- Stenting; and
- Endarterectomy.
Angioplasty is a minimally invasive procedure in which a surgeon threads a balloon-tipped tube through arteries until it reaches the one that is blocked. The surgeon inflates the balloon, which compresses the plaque in the artery and widens the vessel.
Stenting is also minimally invasive and may be done at the same time as angioplasty. A stent is a small metal-mesh tube that a surgeon inserts to prop open an artery.
Endarterectomy is a surgical procedure in which a surgeon makes an incision into the wall of the blocked artery and removes the plaque.
Rest assured that when you visit Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular, you will be treated by a group of dedicated physicians and staff. The different clinical and technical skills that interventional cardiologists, interventional radiologists, and vascular surgeons bring to the most advanced interventional facilities provide the utmost in delivery of care, safe and rapid interventions, and the best outcomes.
To learn more about all the physicians with this area of expertise, please click here.
