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UCLA Health - What to Know About Peripheral Artery Disease

Thumbnail of the video “UCLA Health - What to Know About Peripheral Artery Disease”
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Author: UCLA Health
Categories: Health
Tags: health
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 15:01 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: If you have symptoms of peripheral artery disease (PAD), such as leg pain, get evaluated at a PAD clinic, where treatment starts with medical management (blood pressure and cholesterol control, smoking cessation) and may include minimally invasive procedures like angioplasty, atherectomy, or stenting. The speaker, Dr. Ravi Shrinivasa, an interventional radiologist at UCLA, explains that PAD results from plaque buildup that reduces blood flow to affected areas.

Key Points

  • PAD is plaque buildup in blood vessels that limits blood flow; the video says it affects up to 8 to 12 million Americans every year.
  • Symptoms depend on which vessels are affected: leg pain, skin discoloration, pain with walking or at rest, leg ulcers, arm symptoms, stroke or mini-stroke, pain with eating, flank pain, high blood pressure, or poor kidney function.
  • Risk factors include high-cholesterol or high-fat diet, past or current smoking, family history, older age, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease or dialysis.
  • PAD is often confused with venous disease, which typically causes leg heaviness, swelling, itching, and symptoms that worsen at the end of the day.
  • Treatment begins with medical management, and interventional procedures are used when blockages are found; surgical bypass is needed in some cases.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: Get a workup that starts with a clinic visit and lab work (blood counts, cholesterol, metabolic profile), plus a physical exam of the legs or arms for skin discoloration or ulcers, then imaging such as an ultrasound, with CT or MRI if needed. Control blood pressure, lower cholesterol into the normal range, and stop smoking. If you choose a procedure, have nothing to eat the night before; an IV is started on the day, and moderate twilight sedation is given about an hour before. Access is through the wrist or groin, and the procedure usually lasts about 45 minutes. Risks include bleeding, infection, and inability to cross the blockage, which may require a surgical bypass.
  • Procedure options described: angioplasty (balloon to stretch the vessel open), atherectomy (device that shaves calcium or plaque, sometimes boring through a complete occlusion), and stenting (metal device holding the vessel open).
  • Collateral vessels can develop around a blockage over time, which is why symptoms may be tolerable for a while before they become severe.
  • The speaker names PAD clinics at Calabasas and Santa Clarita locations as the place to schedule a consultation.
  • The speaker names three physicians who currently perform interventions at the outpatient sites: Dr. Ronaday, himself (Dr. Shrinivasa), and Dr. Stewart.

Bottom Line Peripheral artery disease is common and often treatable, and early evaluation with lifestyle changes and, when needed, minimally invasive procedures can restore blood flow.