The primary treatment objectives for PAD focus on reducing symptoms, enhancing the quality of life, improving mobility, and preventing serious complications such as heart attack, stroke, or amputation. There are three predominant treatments that incorporate these objectives into their execution, including: making lifestyle changes, taking medication, and stent angioplasty. The type of treatment is dependant upon medical history and the disease severity.
Lifestyle Changes
This approach to treatment deals with improving overall health to improve the condition. It encourages good habits such as eating a healthy diet, losing weight, exercising, not smoking, and lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels.
The primary treatment objectives for PAD focus on reducing symptoms, enhancing the quality of life, improving mobility, and preventing serious complications such as heart attack, stroke, or amputation. There are three predominant treatments that incorporate these objectives into their execution, including: making lifestyle changes, taking medication, and stent angioplasty. The type of treatment is dependant upon medical history and the disease severity.
Medication
Certain medications may be prescribed to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, regulate diabetes, prevent blood clots, or to relieve leg pain.
Stent Angioplasty
When the arteries have become mostly or entirely blocked, a procedure called stent angioplasty will be performed. This non-surgical procedure inserts a catheter with a small balloon into the affected artery. When inflated, the balloon will increase the space in the artery by pushing the excess cholesterol against the arterial walls.
