Vascular disease describes any issues that affect the blood vessels. At Heart and Vascular Care, in Kissimmee, FL, serving residents of Kissimmee, and the Orlando, FL, areas, Dr. Farshid Daneshvar and Dr. Pradip Baiju offer this type of care, along with their cardiology services. If you recently had a vascular disease diagnose or feel as though you may receive one, it helps to know what to expect during the treatment process.
Diagnosing the Problem
The first step we take is our practitioner asking you questions about how you feel, any odd symptoms you have, what your diet looks like, and how active you are. We'll also check your weight and compare it to your height. Additionally, we'll assess your blood pressure, and heart rate.
While this gives us some insight, we often need more information to accurately diagnose vascular disease. For that reason, a doctor from our practice may recommend blood work to assess your cholesterol. Imaging is a helpful diagnostic tool in many cases. Some examples of this type of testing we order for patients with a potential vascular disease include the following:
- CT angiography
- MR angiography
- Catheter angiography
- Vascular ultrasound
Treating Vascular Disease
Once we know exactly what vascular disease you have, we can coordinate a treatment plan especially for your condition. It may include medication like apixaban to thin your blood and prevent a stroke. For instance, this could be beneficial if you have deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Clopidogrel is often used for carotid artery disease.
For renal artery disease, a physician may prescribe an antihypertensive to combat high blood pressure. A blood pressure-lowering medication can be beneficial for other conditions as well. Some of these medications widen your blood vessels, which allows blood to travel through them more easily. Your practitioner might prescribe a vasodilator in general to enhance circulation throughout your body.
Let's say you have lymphedema. You could benefit from a compression sleeve or lymphodema wrap.
In some cases, your main treatment or what you need to do in addition to any medications is lifestyle changes. This includes changing your diet to include less sodium or consuming less fat and unhealthy carbohydrates that could increase weight and thereby elevate your risk of vascular complications, like stroke.
While we don't perform surgeries at our Orlando, FL, office, we'll refer you to a local cardiovascular surgeon with a solid reputation.
At Heart and Vascular Care, in Kissimmee, FL, serving residents of Kissimmee, and the Orlando, FL, areas, we help those with vascular disease. This may include education to help you better manage your condition, while other patients may benefit from medication or even a referral for surgery.
Contact us at (407) 730-8970 if you have or are at risk for vascular disease.