Your vascular system consists of a complex array of vessels that carry blood throughout your body. Your arteries transport oxygenated blood out of your heart to nourish all of your organs and tissues. Your veins carry deoxygenated blood back toward your lungs and heart.
When you develop a vascular disease, some or all of your arteries or veins no longer work the way they should. Common vascular diseases include:
- Abdominal aortic aneurysms
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
- Carotid artery stenosis
- Arteriovenous malformation (AVM)
- Critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI)
- Pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs)
- Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI)
- Atherosclerosis
- Varicose veins
Untreated vascular disease results in serious complications, including stroke, heart attack, and early death. Most vascular disease is treatable and even curable.
Jeffrey Gosin, MD, a skilled and caring vein specialist, diagnoses and treats vascular disease at Shore Vascular and Vein Center in Somers Point, New Jersey. If you suffer from the pain and fatigue of vascular disease, following are some of your treatment options.
Lifestyle changes
Vascular disease — particularly atherosclerosis and PAD — are on the rise, even among younger people. Many vascular diseases originate because of lifestyle choices, such as a nutrition-poor diet and low activity level. A high-sugar, high-processed foods diet, for instance, can lead to diabetes, which damages your blood vessels and causes PAD.
If you’re in the early stages of vascular disease, lifestyle changes may be enough to halt and reverse the disease process. If you’re in the later stages and need more invasive treatments, you still benefit from adopting a healthier lifestyle, such as:
- Cutting out sugar
- Cutting out processed foods and meats
- Eating more fresh vegetables and fruits
- Getting more exercise
We help you make the adjustments you need to keep your veins and arteries healthy and strong. Depending on the type of vascular disease you have, as well as its severity, you may need further treatment.
Radiofrequency therapy and microphlebectomy
Although many people view varicose veins as an aesthetic problem, they’re actually a type of vascular disease. Some varicose veins are so inflated and twisted that they cause pain in your legs (i.e., claudication) and may compromise your ability to walk.
Varicose veins arise when the valves in the blood vessels fail and allow blood to pool backward instead of traveling back up toward your heart and lungs. Dr. Gosin may remove smaller varicose veins through minimally invasive radiofrequency therapy, which collapses and closes them.
He may remove small-to-medium varicose veins through small incisions, in a procedure known as a microphlebectomy. The incisions are so small you don’t even need stitches.
Angioplasty and stenting
If your blood vessels are blocked or weakened, you may require minimally invasive procedures such as angioplasty and stenting. Angioplasty consists of opening blocked arteries by inserting a balloon into the vessel and inflating it. A stent is a device that holds open a weakened or blocked blood vessel.
Most of the time, Dr. Gosin performs angioplasty and stenting in the comfort and security of our offices. You usually return to normal activities within a day.
Open surgery
In some cases, your vascular disease has progressed too far for minimally invasive treatments or is actively threatening your life. In such cases, Dr. Gosin must perform traditional open surgery in a hospital to remove or strengthen your weakened or blocked vessels. Some angioplasties and stenting must also be performed in the hospital.
If you need open surgery to treat your vascular disease, you should prepare to stay overnight or even several days as you recover. During your consultation, Dr. Gosin estimates your hospital stay and recovery timeline.
Pain in your legs, fatigue, or trouble walking could be a sign of serious vascular disease. To protect your cardiovascular system and potentially save your own life, schedule a vascular disease consultation and treatment today. Call us at 609-297-5992, or use the handy online contact form to request an appointment.
