Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) Flashcards
Arteriosclerosis
affects small vessels farthest from the heart (eg: capillaries)
Tx:
- bed rest
- warmth
- Bueger-Allen exercises
- vasodilators
Special problems associated with DM (arterial insufficiency)
S&S:
-resting pain due to intermittent (sporadic) claudication (pain in your thigh, calf, or buttocks that happens when you walk)
- arterial pulses r difficult to find or nonexistent
- skin discoloration, ulcerations & gangrene (death of body tissue due to a lack of blood flow or serious bacterial infection)
Nursing considerations:
-because many older adults may have witnessed severe disability & death among others with DM throughout their lives, they need to be assured that improved medical & surgical management/tech increase their chances for a full, independent life.
Aneurysms
an abnormal bulge or ballooning in the wall of a section of a blood vessel, usually because it is weak
usually develops in peripheral arteries, with femoral & popliteal arteries being the most common sites
Causes:
- advanced arteriosclerosis
- infection
- trauma
- syphilis
Risk factors:
- age
- Hx of angina pectoris, MI & CHF
some can be seen by the naked eye and can be palpated as a pulsating mass while others can only be detected via radiography
thrombosis can develop, leading to arterial occlusion or rupture of the aneurism
Possible postop complications:
- hemorrhage
- MI
- cerebrovascular accident (CVA)
- acute renal insufficiency
Varicose veins
Causes:
- lack of exercise
- jobs entailing a great deal of standing
- loss of vessel elasticity & strength
S&S:
- dull pain & cramping of the legs
- dizziness when rising from a supine position because the blood gets localized in the lower extremities and cerebral circulation is reduced.
Risks:
-makes the skin more susceptible to trauma & infection, promoting the development of ulcerative lesions, especially among the obese and diabetics
Tx:
- elevate the affected limbs to promote venous return
- exercise
- compression socks, elastic stockings, etc
- pt teaching about the causes of their condition
