There are safe and simple ways to keep PAD from getting worse.
To control PAD, you should stop smoking and walk every day. And you should also work with your health care provider to control other risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Even if you have symptoms, you may be better off not having a procedure. Studies show that walking every day can relieve symptoms just as well as angioplasty, in some cases.
Surgery and angioplasty have risks and it takes time to get better.
Bypass surgery on your legs has all the dangers of surgery. It takes two to three weeks for the wound to heal. Risks include infection, bleeding from the wound, and complications from anesthesia, such as trouble breathing or pneumonia.
Angioplasty is not as hard on your body as surgery, and the recovery is faster. But stents may not provide a lasting treatment and the original symptoms can come back within a year.
Both procedures can, in rare cases, cause a partly blocked artery to close up completely. Then you may need an emergency procedure.
When do you need a procedure for PAD?
You and your health care provider should consider surgery or angioplasty if:
- Your symptoms are severe enough to limit your lifestyle or your ability to work.
- Simpler treatments, such as exercise and medicine, have not helped.
See your health care provider right away to be evaluated for a procedure if you have any of these signs:
- Foot pain when you’re resting, especially at night.
- Sores on your toes or feet that do not heal.
- A toe that looks blue or black and may hurt.