Peripheral Arterial Disease – blockages in your legs – presents a potentially serious health threat. McLeod Vascular Specialist Carmen Piccolo, III, D.O. outlines a special rehabilitation program for PAD patients:

Here are the highlights of Dr. Piccolo’s comments:

Vascular Rehabilitation entails modification of the patient’s lifestyles risk factors for peripheral disease. It encompasses nutrition education, an exercise program and teaches lifestyle modifications to improve overall vascular health.

PAD, or Peripheral Arterial Disease, in simple terms, is a blockage in the arteries that supplies blood flow to the legs.  These blockages trigger a wide variety of symptoms. Many people with Peripheral Arterial Disease have no symptoms. Other patients have mild pain or fatigue when walking long distances. Some patients have severe pain with any type of movement. In the final stages of the disease, patients can have lacerations or wounds on their lower legs.

If you feel that you may have Peripheral Arterial Disease, whether you have symptoms or not, the best place to start is to discuss it with your primary care doctor and be seen by a vascular specialist.

The McLeod Vascular Rehabilitation consists of a multidisciplinary system and team that starts from seeing a vascular specialist in the office through…

• Testing, evaluation and ensuring you are on the correct medications.
• Followed by participating three times a week in the rehabilitation program. Through the promotion of healthy lifestyle modification, education, and exercise, the hope is to reduce Peripheral Arterial Disease symptoms, and improve the patient’s overall vascular health.

Other aspects of the vascular rehabilitation program include health education, nutrition education, understanding what risk factors you have for the progression of Peripheral Arterial Disease and implementing plans to improve on them. These changes include stopping smoking, managing blood pressure and controlling diabetes.

At McLeod, the program is offered in six of our locations throughout the region at McLeod Cheraw, McLeod Clarendon, McLeod Dillon, McLeod Loris, McLeod Seacoast (North Myrtle Beach) and McLeod Regional Medical Center at McLeod Health & Fitness (Florence).

Find a Vascular Specialist near you.