Heart Clinic of Louisiana Peripheral Vascular Disease Clinic

Heart Clinic of Louisiana Peripheral Vascular Disease clinic offers specialized care in the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral vascular disease. Patients who have risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, history of smoking or coronary artery disease are at risk for developing peripheral vascular disease (PVD).  Disease of the peripheral arteries may cause leg pain with walking, skin discoloration or ulcers.  As PVD progresses you may experience leg pain at rest.  Patients who are diagnosed with PVD are at a higher risk for heart attack or stroke.


Vascular Risk Assessments Tools

Are you concerned about your risk of developing vascular disease? The following online resources can help. Simply click on the risk assessment that matches your concern and answer the questions. Your risk will be calculated quickly with recommendations on what further actions to take, if any, to decrease your risk.

  • Peripheral Vascular Risk Assessment Tool
  • Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Risk Assessment Tool (coming soon)

  • Heart Clinic of Louisiana Cardiology Corner

    Tracy M. Fife, MSN, APRN

    Are you suffering from leg pain, burning, or aching in your calves, a wound on your foot or leg that will not heal?  You may have Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD).  PAD refers to diseases of the blood vessels outside the heart and brain.  In patients with PAD, the arteries that carry blood to the arms, legs, stomach or kidneys become narrowed, or “clogged”, by plaque interfering with normal blood flow.  Plaque is a substance made up of fat and cholesterol, which builds up in the arteries.  Many people with PAD have mild or no symptoms.  Some people have leg pain when walking, which is referred to as intermittent claudication.  Intermittent claudication symptoms include muscle pain or cramping in the legs triggered by activity or walking that is relieved with a few minutes of rest.  The location of the pain depends on the location of the clogged, or narrowed, artery.

              A common test used to diagnose PAD is an ABI (ankle-brachial index).  This test is simple and non-invasive, and it compares the blood pressure in your ankle with the blood pressure in your arm. 

              The treatment of PAD includes two major goals.  The first is to manage symptoms and the second is to stop progression of the disease.  You may be able to accomplish these goals with lifestyle changes and with medications used to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

    If you have symptoms of PAD, or if you are over age 50 and have risk factors, schedule an appointment online. with the Peripheral vascular disease Clinic of Heart Clinic of Louisiana.