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Vascular insufficiency pain
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vascular insufficiency pain - Diagnosis of
vascular insufficiency pain - Treatment of
vascular insufficiency pain - Spinal Cord Stimulation Therapy
Treatment of vascular insufficiency pain
Lifestyle improvement
For smokers, the most important first step is to quit smoking. Patients with diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia must continue treatment with their regular doctor while being more vigilant about managing their lifestyles.
Drug therapy
Drug therapy is the first type of treatment used.
- Antiplatelet drugs (drugs that thin the blood and improve blood flow)
- Vasodilators (drugs that expand constricted blood vessels and increase the volume of blood flow)
- Analgesics (drugs that relieve pain)
Nerve block
This method of treatment is used when the nerve controlling a blood vessel has become extremely tense and involves relieving the tension by blocking the related nerve. This method is best used by anesthesiologists in pain clinics.
Surgery
- Bypass surgery can be used to bridge a blockage in a blood vessel, enabling blood to flow past the blocked portion. It is carried out by cardiovascular and plastic surgeons.
- Balloon angioplasty, in which a device is inserted into a blood vessel and a balloon inflated in the narrowed part, is carried out by radiologists and specialists in circulatory medicine.
- Another form of angioplasty involves inserting a support called a stent into the blood vessel to push it open from inside, and this is also carried out by radiologists and specialists in circulatory medicine.
- If the nerve controlling the blood vessel is tense and the vessel is constricted, spinal cord stimulation therapy can be used to relieve this tension by applying an electrical current to the spinal cord at the base of the nerve. This treatment is carried out by neurosurgeons and anesthesiologists and is described on the next page.