My parner has just been told?

that he has Peripheral Vascular Disease which is affecting his legs. Don't really know much about this. Anyone know what I can advise him to do to help?

Peripheral Vascular Disease

This refers to diseases of blood vessels outside the heart and brain. It's often a narrowing of vessels that carry blood to the legs, arms, stomach or kidneys. There are two types of these circulation disorders:

Functional peripheral vascular diseases don't have an organic cause. They don't involve defects in blood vessels' structure. They're usually short-term effects related to "spasm" that may come and go. Raynaud's disease is an example. It can be triggered by cold temperatures, emotional stress, working with vibrating machinery or smoking.


Organic peripheral vascular diseases are caused by structural changes in the blood vessels, such as inflammation and tissue damage. Peripheral artery disease is an example. It's caused by fatty buildups in arteries that block normal blood flow.

Techniques used to diagnose PAD include a medical history, physical exam, ultrasound, X-ray angiography and magnetic resonance imaging angiography (MRA).

Most people with PAD can be treated with lifestyle changes, medications or both. Lifestyle changes to lower your risk include:

Stop smoking (smokers have a particularly strong risk of PAD).
Control diabetes.
Control blood pressure.
Be physically active (including a supervised exercise program).
Eat a low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol diet.
PAD may require drug treatment, too. Drugs include:

medicines to help improve walking distance (cilostazol and pentoxifylline).
antiplatelet agents
cholesterol-lowering agents (statins)
In a minority of patients, lifestyle modifications alone aren't sufficient. In these cases, angioplasty or surgery may be necessary.

Angioplasty is a non-surgical procedure that can be used to dilate (widen) narrowed or blocked peripheral arteries. A thin tube called a catheter with a deflated balloon on its tip is passed into the narrowed artery segment. Then the balloon is deflated and the catheter is withdrawn.

Often a stent 鈥?a cylindrical, wire mesh tube 鈥?is placed in the narrowed artery with a catheter. There the stent expands and locks open. It stays in that spot, keeping the diseased artery open.

If the narrowing involves a long portion of an artery, surgery may be necessary. A vein from another part of the body or a synthetic blood vessel is used. It's attached above and below the blocked area to detour blood around the blocked spot.

It is a circulation problem that can be helped with special hose and massage therapy.

I know someone with this here is a site that may provide some helpful information... http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.j...

IF HE IS A SMOKER.....THE BEST THING HE CAN DO IS STOP. THIS IS THE MOST COMMON CASE OF THIS PROBLEM.

Following is a link I use at work to download for patients at times. It should help you better understand the condition and the treatments offered.
It is important that if he is at rest to elevate his legs and if you could both go to the pharmacy and buy some TED (Thrombo Embolic Device) stockings for him to wear under his clothes that is a definite help in the circulation department. I know we can get socks that do a similar thing here in Australia, not sure about world wide though.
Importnant to have an all round good diet too and some moderate exercises to keep the blood circulating in the extremities. There are a few other lifestyle changes that must take place too, they are listed there.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.j...
http://www.dva.gov.au/health/menshealth/...

That's a very painful thing. For right now, you could lift and lower his legs one at a time for say like a rep of 5 to start, and after a week or so to 10 till you end up with 20 reps. This will help a small bit. Try to be there to help as much as possible. And buy him one of those reacher things, you can buy these at drug stores or Walmart, just about anywhere, that way he can do for himself more. In the long run you may need to consult home health care, but do your homework really well with these. Good luck, have patience, keep love.

If he smokes tell him to stop smoking. Is he diabetic too? Keep an eye on his skin on his lower legs. Make sure he moisturises his legs with aquueous cream. And watch for any discoloration in the skin.
PVD is a condition in which the blood circulation is basically being shut off. It probably will eventually lead to some amputation of toes/foot/lower leg. If the skins turns black, then that means its necrotic and is dead tissue which will have to be surgically removed. You have to be careful cos infection can set in and you can eventually die from blood poisoning.

yes darlin I can help you there. My partner suffers Peripheral Neuropathy, which is numbness in the feet, burning feet, swelling, tingling, and it feels like his skin is going to tear, it's from the knee down to his feet. is it the same symptoms?. If so get back to me and i can tell you more.

he needs to rest with his feet up higher than his waist

Go bowling. That would cheer me up. Buy some beer for him, and keep score. Hit the restart button after he rolls one so it hits the pin protector. Put some beer on his shoes after he takes a few shots and watch him leap forward onto the lane. Buy him some nachos in game three. Be his pal. Go to the separate smoking room and talk about the good times when he was young and could walk and run and skip for joy.