Is Peripheral Artery Disease Progressive & Alternative Treatments For It?

Peripheral artery disease is a common type of circulatory disease, where narrowed arteries reduce the flow of blood to different limbs present in the human body.

Is Peripheral Artery Disease Progressive?

Yes, peripheral artery disease is a type of progressive condition. This is because; it restricts circulation to various organs, limbs, and the brain, while damage them. Moreover, if you leave the condition untreated, peripheral artery disease causes infection in the blood starved tissue or damages them. This leads to another condition called gangrene and in its worst case, the patient requires amputation.⁽¹⁾

You have to do a few of the simple and easy things to manage your peripheral artery disease and its underlying symptoms to become worse. These include the following-

Control your blood pressure
Control your cholesterol
Always have a healthy diet
Never involve in smoking activities
Dedicate some time for exercises.⁽²⁾

Alternative Treatments For Peripheral Artery Disease

Until now, research studies have come up with the application of following alternative treatment options or remedies to treat peripheral artery disease.

Ginkgo Biloba: Ginkgo Biloba is a type of herb used mainly for stimulating the blood circulation process. This herb is effective for patients suffering from peripheral artery disease, especially the ones with intermittent claudication. Here, intermittent claudication refers to the discomfort in legs, which typically takes place with physical movement and subsides when you take rest.

Vitamin D: When you run low on Vitamin D, you remain at high risk to develop the problem of peripheral artery disease. Hence, doctors recommend the patients to expose to sunlight to get Vitamin D in enough amounts.⁽³⁾

Along with the aforementioned natural supplements, you have to perform a stepwise exercise or walk to deal with your symptoms of peripheral artery disease.

Step 1-Warm Up: You should stretch the thigh and calf muscles in each of your legs for about 10seconds to 15seconds.
Step 2-Start Walking: You should start walking at a fast pace for a period of approximately 5minutes. You should do this even when you experience mild pain in your legs.
Step 3-Rest For A While: After walking for about 5minutes, you should rest until your mild to moderate pain goes away.
Step 4-Continue The Routine For First 2 Months: You should repeat the mentioned steps of walking and stopping many times. During the initial two months of your walking schedule, you should go slowly to walk for 35minutes each session. However, during this time, you should never count your rest breaks. You should continue adding few minutes until and unless you achieve the goal to walk 50minutes.
Step 5-Cool Down: You should complete your exercise by walking at a slow rate for about 5minutes. Later on, you should stretch the thigh muscles and calf muscles again.
Step 6-Follow The Routine And Add Few Challenges: You should continue your mentioned rule related to warm up, walking, rest, and cool down. You should aim to walk for 50minutes and at least for 3times to 5times in a week. When you feel this step as easy, you should create challenges to work a bit hard. You may try walking up stairs or hills or add to your regular treadmill routine.

You always have to be patient, as recovery from peripheral artery disease needs a few months. Hence, you should continue with your work to expect improvement in your walking.⁽⁴⁾

Conclusion

To conclude, we should say that patients could easily overcome their condition of peripheral artery disease by following alternative treatments in the form of lifestyle changes, supplements, and a combination of walking and rest.

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Is Peripheral Artery Disease Progressive & Alternative Treatments For It?