Vascular Diseases

Peripheral artery disease occurs when the arteries outside the heart experience a buildup of plaque. This can lead to the arteries narrowing, blocking blood flow and leading to a lack of oxygen in the body’s tissues.  Types of peripheral artery disease include:

• Intestinal ischemic syndrome – a lack of blood flow in the digestive system.
• Renal artery disease – a lack of blood flow to the kidneys due to a blockage in the renal artery.
• Popliteal entrapment syndrome occurs when the popliteal artery, an artery running down the back of the knee, has its blood flow cut off by the muscles in the knee. It’s rare and usually occurs in young athletes.
• Raynaud’s phenomenon – affects the small arteries of the fingers and toes when exposed to cold and stress.
• Buerger’s disease – occurs when smaller arteries in the arms and legs narrow or become blocked entirely, leading to insufficient blood supply or even dead tissue.

Carotid artery issues occur in the artery in the neck that carries blood from the heart to the head. They include:

• Carotid artery disease – a complete blockage or narrowing of the carotid artery. This can lead to stroke.
• Carotid artery dissection – a tear in the wall of the carotid artery that causes internal bleeding.
• Carotid artery tumours – occur when a cancerous growth forms around the carotid artery.
• Carotid artery aneurysm – the wall of the artery balloons outwards, weakening the artery and potentially causing it to burst.

Venous disease occurs in the veins, vessels that carry blood back to the heart. Veins are different from arteries in that valves help push blood back towards the heart. Venous disease can occur if the valves stop functioning correctly, causing bulging, blood pooling, and inefficient blood transport back to the heart.

Types of venous disease include:

• Varicose veins – rope-like, purple veins that are visible through the skin. Valves that are not working correctly cause varicose veins.
• Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome – A rare vascular disorder that affects the veins, people are born with Klippel-Trenaunay.
• Spider veins – tiny spots of purple or red on the legs. This occurs when the capillaries become inflamed and swell.
• May-Thurner Syndrome – This occurs when an artery in the pelvis compresses a vein in the pelvis, increasing the risk of a blood clot in the legs.
• Thoracic outlet syndrome – This occurs when the blood vessels or nerves in the chest region are compressed or irritated, causing pain.
• Chronic venous insufficiency – This occurs when the valves in the veins of the legs are not working well enough to return blood from the legs to the heart, affecting the health of the heart and the body over a long period.

Blood clots form due to an excess of clotting factors in the blood. A clot can come loose in a blood vessel and put someone at a higher risk for stroke, heart attack, and additional medical complications, including:

• Blood clotting disorders – disorders that involve blood clotting are often inherited, although they can develop throughout one’s lifetime. While blood clotting disorders can impact the ability to clot, they can also cause excess clotting by producing too much of certain clotting factors or too little natural substance to combat clotting, called anticoagulant.
• Deep vein thrombosis – a clot that forms in a deep vein. These are dangerous in the legs, where they usually form, and they can travel to other areas of the body and become life-threatening.
• Pulmonary embolism – a blood clot that travels into the lungs’ blood vessels.

An aneurysm is a protrusion in the wall of a blood vessel. They can be life-threatening if they start to dissect, tearing at the wall of the blood vessel. Aneurysms commonly form in the aorta.

Fibromuscular dysplasia is a rare condition that involves excess cell growth on the walls of the medium and large arteries. This can cause the arteries to narrow and can lead to the formation of aneurysms.

Vasculitis occurs when the blood vessels are inflamed. This can occur due to certain medicines, infections, or spontaneously.