What is peripheral vascular disease

On weekdays, we ordinary people may not pay much attention to the symptoms, causes, and prevention methods of some diseases. Especially for some less common diseases, we know even less. Diseases like peripheral vascular disease are not often heard of, so they are relatively unfamiliar to us. Today, the editor will give you some common knowledge about peripheral vascular diseases. Let’s learn about the causes, prevention methods and treatment methods of peripheral vascular diseases.

Focus on peripheral vascular disease, which traditional Chinese medicine calls vascular disease. Its incidence rate has increased significantly in recent years, with common ones including arteriosclerosis obliterans, arteriovenous thrombosis, and aneurysm. At present, my country's professional technology for treating peripheral vascular diseases is booming, traditional surgical techniques are constantly being improved, and the new treatment method - interventional therapy is becoming more and more widely used in clinical practice.

1. Causes of the disease

1. The cause of the disease is still not fully understood. Smoking, cold, humidity, malnutrition and abnormal sex hormones have always been considered the main factors of this disease, and the relationship between smoking and the onset of the disease is particularly close. In the study of the pathogenesis, some people have proposed theories such as vascular neuroregulatory dysfunction, hypercoagulable state of blood and hyperadrenal function. In the past decade, immune factors have received more attention.

2. Through observation of humoral immunity, cellular immunity and immunopathology of this disease, many scholars believe that this disease is an autoimmune disease. The lesions mainly invade medium and small arteries, and the accompanying veins are also often affected, but to a lesser extent. The affected artery narrows and hardens, and the entire layer of the blood vessel shows non-suppurative inflammation. The intima is thickened, endothelial cells and fibroblasts proliferate, and lymphocytes infiltrate. The middle layer is fibrous tissue proliferation, and the outer layer is extensive fibroblast proliferation. The general structure of the blood vessel wall still exists, and thrombus forms in the lumen, causing blood vessel occlusion. In the later stage, thrombus organization can reopen the blood vessel lumen, but the reopened small blood vessels cannot compensate for normal blood flow. The lesions are often segmental, and relatively normal blood vessels may be present between the diseased vessels.

3. In the later stage of the process, the blood vessel wall and its surrounding area are extensively fibrotic, so that the accompanying veins and nerves are surrounded by them, forming a hard cord. The pathological changes when veins are affected are similar to those in arteries, but there are more giant cells, leukocytes, and lymphocytes in the intima and around the thrombus, more fibroblasts, leukocytes, and lymphocytes in the middle layer, and extensive fibroblast proliferation in the outer layer. In addition to the above-mentioned pathological changes in blood vessels, there are also ischemic pathological changes in nerves, muscles, bones and other tissues.

2. Disease prevention

Vitamin D can prevent peripheral vascular disease. Peripheral vascular disease is often caused by the accumulation of fat in the blood vessels of the legs. Patients experience leg pain and are unable to walk normally. After investigation, it was found that people with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood are less likely to suffer from peripheral vascular disease. The survey results show that 64% of people with peripheral vascular disease have low vitamin D levels in their bodies. Researchers believe that high levels of vitamin D in the body may not have a direct relationship with the incidence of peripheral vascular disease, but that a balanced diet keeps the nutrient level in the body at a high level.

3. Treatment of diseases

Overview Atherosclerotic narrowing or blockage of lower limb blood vessels often leads to peripheral vascular disease, the severity of which is related to the range of blood vessels involved and the effective collateral circulation. Intermittent claudication is the most common manifestation. The treatment of peripheral vascular disease is mainly aimed at improving blood flow, relieving pain, inhibiting disease progression, preventing or treating ulcers and gangrene, and preventing cardiovascular complications or death.