“There are a number of different ways to unclog an artery, depending on where it is and how bad the blockage is,” explains Eric Hager MD, a vascular surgeon at the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute. Vascular surgeons take the patient’s medical history and risk factors into account when choosing the best option for treatment, which can include:
Medicines and lifestyle changes. Your doctor may prescribe statins, which are medicines that can help lower your cholesterol, and a daily aspirin to prevent blood clots. A regular exercise program also will be recommended. According to Dr. Hager, this treatment approach has been shown to improve the distance people with PAD can walk before they experience pain.
Angioplasty and stenting. Some blockages, like shorter blockages in the legs, are best treated through a catheter-based procedure called angioplasty. During an angioplasty, your vascular surgeon places a catheter with a balloon at its tip into your artery and inflates the balloon to open the blockage. He or she may also place a stent, a tube made of metal mesh, into your artery to hold it open.
Surgery. Your vascular surgeon may recommend:
Endarterectomy, where plaque is scraped out of your artery
Bypass surgery, where blood flow is re-routed around a blockage using a graft from another vein in your body or a man-made material