Peripheral vascular disease

Healthy blood vessels are essential to maintaining the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart, brain, lungs and body. Vascular disease, which affects the arteries, veins and lymphatic vessels, can lead to life-threatening events, such as blood clots, stroke, heart attack and aneurysm.

At Edward-Elmhurst Health, you’ll find expert, high quality care for peripheral vascular disease (PVD), the broad term for circulatory disorders. You’ll benefit from the expertise of specialists from many areas, including vascular surgery, interventional cardiology, interventional radiology and cardiology.

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Vascular screenings reduce your risk

If you smoke or have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, you could be at risk for a stroke. Similar to plaque building up in the heart and causing a heart attack, peripheral vascular disease is the buildup of plaque in other parts of the body, such as the carotid arteries, blocking blood flow to the brain which causes a stroke.

In addition, only one in four people with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a form of PVD, experience any symptoms of a blood clot, such as leg cramps or pain while walking. The risk of PVD and PAD increases as we age. That’s why it’s essential to know your risk.

A peripheral vascular screening is quick, easy, painless and affordable. It includes:

• An ultrasound of the carotid arteries in your neck to check for narrowing caused by plaque
• An ultrasound of the abdominal aorta, the largest blood vessel in your body, to screen for an aneurysm
• A check of the blood flow in your legs, to screen for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) 

Schedule your PV screen online or by calling 630-527-2800. Cost is $129 for all three tests or $45 each. 

Screenings are offered in two convenient locations: Lombard and Elmhurst.

Take our free online StrokeAware assessment.

Vascular conditions we treat

We provide comprehensive screening, testing and treatment for:

• Carotid artery disease – Narrowing of arteries leading to the brain
• Coronary artery disease (CAD) – Narrowing of arteries of the heart
• Peripheral artery disease (PAD) – Narrowing of arteries affecting the legs
• Chronic venous insufficiency – Blood flows in the wrong direction and pools in the legs due to damaged valves
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – A blood clot in a deep vein, which can break off and travel through the bloodstream to create an embolism, causing severe damage
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm – Thin areas on the artery wall that can burst, leading to death or limb loss
• Varicose veins – Swollen, twisted veins that cause pain and burning
• Foot ulcers and infected limbs – Chronic wounds, caused by diabetes, which are difficult to heal and can require amputation. Learn more about wound care at Edward-Elmhurst Health.

Vascular treatment

The highly-skilled surgeons and interventionalists at Edward-Elmhurst perform a full range of vascular and endovascular procedures. We can perform many procedures on a minimally invasive basis using image-guided catheters to repair defects and open blood vessels.

Some treatment options we offer for peripheral vascular disease include:

• Medication to improve blood flow and relax the walls of the blood vessels
• Endovascular treatments, including angioplasty, atherectomy, and stenting of coronary, mesenteric (abdominal) or peripheral (extremity) arteries
• Endovascular and surgical aneurysm repair
• Carotid endarterectomy and stenting
• Vascular surgery/leg bypass surgery
• Vein ablation procedures, including laser ablation and RF ablation of venous insufficiency
• Endovenous laser therapy, ablation, microphlebectomy and ligation and stripping for varicose veins and other venous issues
• Deep venous thrombolysis for blood clots
• Percutaneous dialysis fistula/graft interventions to remove blockages and improve flow for hemodialysis

Advanced diabetic limb salvage

Our specialists take a team approach to advanced diabetic limb salvage — an intervention to help diabetic patients with serious infections avoid foot and lower-limb amputation. Our vascular surgeons collaborate with specialists in wound care, infectious disease, podiatry and other disciplines to open or reroute blood flow and save the limb.

Education and support for vascular disease

You can modify your risk and control the progression of vascular disease by making lifestyle changes. Edward-Elmhurst offers prevention and education services, including exercise, diet and smoking cessation.

You may also benefit from our peripheral arterial conditioning and exercise (PACE) program, offered in conjunction with our cardiac rehab services. 

Heart and vascular locations