What Are the Risk Factors for Peripheral Arterial Disease Surgery?

According to the Mayo Clinic, "peripheral artery disease, also known as peripheral arterial disease, is a common circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to your limbs." Proper treatment is necessary with peripheral arterial disease. There are two goals for treatment with peripheral arterial disease: managing symptoms and stopping the progression of atherosclerosis. Symptoms can usually be controlled with lifestyle changes; however, patients with advanced peripheral arterial disease may require surgery. While the procedures are mainly safe, there are risk factors involved.

Angioplasty

Angioplasty is performed by threading a catheter through a blood vessel to the affected artery, where a small balloon at the tip of the catheter expands. This results in reopening the artery, flattening the blockage and increasing blood flow. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the risk factors for angioplasty include blood clots, kidney failure, arrhythmia, an allergic reaction to the dye used, damage to the heart valve or blood vessel, and bleeding or clotting around the catheter. The NIH points out that a stroke is also a risk factor, but it is more rare.

Bypass Surgery

Another surgical option for peripheral arterial disease is bypass surgery. A vessel from another part of the body, or a synthetic vessel, is graphed, allowing for blood flow to the blocked or narrowed artery. Bypass surgery risk factors include heart attack or stroke, chest wound infection, heart rhythm problems and post-pericardiotomy syndrome.

Thrombolytic Therapy

According to the Mayo Clinic, the last surgical option for peripheral arterial disease is thrombolytic therapy, where a clot-dissolving drug is injected into the area of the clot. Risk factors for thrombolytic therapy include life-threatening hemorrhaging or bleeding. In addition, 25 percent of patients suffer from minor bleeding in their gums or nose, and one percent of patients suffer from bleeding in the brain, according to the National Institutes of Health.