What is the difference between arterial and venous insufficiency

When your blood vessels are no longer able to function properly, you doctor may tell you that you have peripheral vascular disease PVD or peripheral artery disease PAD. PVD occurs when disease affects any of the vessels outside of your heart, wherever they happen to be — in your arms, legs, brain or anywhere else.

As a result, blood flows backward and pools in the veins. Another type of PVD is deep vein thrombosis, a condition that develops when a blood clot forms deep in a vein, most often in a leg. The clot can potentially travel to the lungs and cause serious problems, even death.

It is usually caused by atherosclerosis, a process that causes plaque buildup. That plaque can narrow your arteries and limit the amount of blood that can pass through them, or it can block blood flow altogether.

Many people develop PAD without ever experiencing symptoms. Both conditions increase the risk of stroke and heart attack and may lead to amputation. Meanwhile, long hours of sitting or standing can increase the mechanical stress on leg veins, causing venous insufficiency. Since both arterial and venous insufficiency limits blood circulation, they tend to share similar symptoms. Both types tend to affect legs the most, and patients typically feel pain and cramping. The legs may feel numb or cold, and slow-healing sores may develop.

Other symptoms include skin discoloration, hair loss, and slow nail growth. Additionally, venous insufficiency can cause swelling near the ankles and the lower legs. The inability of the veins to convey blood back to the heart causes fluid accumulation, leading to swelling. Chronic venous insufficiency is not particularly dangerous, but it can significantly impact your quality of life. Meanwhile, the systemic causes that lead to arterial disease can cause dangerous complications.

Atherosclerosis can affect arteries in the heart and brain and could cause heart attack and stroke. In all cases of blood vessel disease, lifestyle changes are useful in reducing the severity of the conditions.

Eating a healthy diet, engaging in moderate physical activity, and quitting smoking are effective ways to improve artery and vein health. Your doctor may also prescribe medications. Blood-thinning drugs can prevent blood clot formation in both arteries and veins.

Additionally, you might receive formulations to control hypertension, diabetes, or high cholesterol. Surgical methods are also a viable option. For arterial insufficiency, a surgeon can perform angioplasty to expand the constricted sections of your arteries manually.

The most common of these vein diseases is venous insufficiency, which can lead to varicose veins , in which the affected veins become swollen and discolored. More serious vein diseases can be caused by thrombosis , which is the formation of blood clots. These clots impair proper blood flow, just as atherosclerosis does, but they are in many ways more dangerous because they may not stay where they formed.

With deep vein thrombosis DVT , the clots can break off from where they started and travel to the lungs. This can lead to a pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal. Lymphedema is a condition that blocks the lymph vessels and keeps them from draining fluid from tissues and supplying them with immune cells. The difference between these two terms starts to affect you personally when you go to the Internet to look up information about them, or seek doctors who can treat them.

This can lead to confusion. At Comprehensive Interventional Care Centers, we are famous for providing the best peripheral arterial disease treatment in Arizona.