Vascular disease causes problems with the network of blood vessels in your body, including your arteries, veins, and capillaries. Veins carry blood to your heart, and arteries carry oxygen-rich blood from your heart to other tissues and organs. Vascular disease affects blood vessels and may increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and limb amputation.
Examples of vascular diseases you (or a loved one) might encounter at some point during your lifetime include:
Symptoms of vascular diseases vary, depending on the type you have. You might not experience any symptoms, or you may have chest pain, shortness of breath, aching legs, tingling, or visible vein changes.
Anybody can develop vascular disease, but certain factors boost your risk. Examples include:
Sitting or standing for long time periods may also increase your chance of vascular problems.
The best way to reduce your risk of vascular disease is to eat healthy foods, maintain an ideal body weight, don’t smoke, exercise regularly, and properly manage a chronic disease if you have one.
Dr. Al Kaddoumi can diagnose the type of vascular disease you have. He reviews your medical history, asks about symptoms you might experience, and completes a physical examination. He might recommend you undergo an ultrasound, other imaging procedures, heart function tests, or blood tests.
In addition to recommending healthy lifestyle changes, Dr. Al Kaddoumi might prescribe medications for you. Examples include blood thinners, cholesterol-lowering medicines, clot-dissolving medicines, or blood pressure-lowering medications.
He might use a catheter to inject medicine into a blood vessel or complete a minor surgical procedure to open blood vessels, remove varicose veins, or repair tissues to improve blood flow.
If you’re at risk of vascular disease, don’t let it go undetected and untreated. Schedule an appointment with Sam Houston Heart and Vascular by phone or book online today.