Community Hospital

Peripheral Arterial Disease

Saving Lives and Limbs - Advances in the Treatment of PAD

Community Hospital is known nationally as a leading center of cardiovascular research exploring new options in the treatment of PAD. If you have leg pain or cramping; slow or non-healing wounds on the legs, feet or toes you may be one of the eight to 12 million Americans with Peripheral Arterial Disease or PAD.

This condition is caused by a narrowing of blood flow to the arms and legs, and, if left untreated, can result in chronic pain, ulcers, gangrene and even amputation of the feet and legs. PAD can significantly increase your risk for heart attack and stroke. If you have one or more of the risk factors for PAD - cigarette smoking, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity and/or high cholesterol - and have concerns about pain in your lower legs, be assured that you can turn to Community Hospital for the latest advances in the treatment of this potentially devastating condition.

Some of the newest treatment options we offer include the use of:

  • A cool laser to vaporize plaque (CliRpath® or Cool Laser Revascularization for Peripheral Artery Therapy) The cool laser treatment vaporizes blockages - especially below the knee where the arteries are small and narrow. The cool laser catheter delivers rapid and continuous bursts of ultraviolet energy to the target site eliminating the obstruction without damage to the surrounding artery. Unlike other lasers, this "cool" laser does not burn.
  • Angioplasty and Stents to restore blood flow to the legs A common procedure used for PAD is balloon angioplasty. A balloon at the tip of a catheter is inflated inside the artery to block blood flow while a stent, a small wire mesh tube, is expanded inside the vessel to keep the walls open.
  • Shaving the plaque away using a device called SilverHawk. A guidewire is threaded into the diseased leg artery to direct the SilverHawk device into place. Then, at a very high rotation per minute, the device works by shaving plaque from the artery wall and pushing it into a nosecone for collection and removal from the body.
  • Pulverizing plaque using a device that rotates at a high rate of speed (Diamondback 360™ Orbital Atherectomy System) The Diamondback technology enables a physician to "sand away" hard plaque and calcium deposits, which are fatty materials that builds up on the inside walls of blood vessels.

PAD Rehabilitation

Exercise therapy has been proven to help some of the painful symptoms of PAD, as well as increase overall cardiovascular health. Our three to six-month PAD Rehabilitation program features three days per week of exercise as well as an extensive educational program related to PAD prevention and treatment. The program is offered through Cardiac Rehabilitation, based at the Community Hospital Fitness Pointe® in Munster.

Diagnosing PAD

Monthly PAD screenings are available through the cardiac rehabilitation department of Community Hospital for a small fee. Call Community Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation at Fitness Pointe (219-934-2830) for more information and scheduling.

A simple, 15-minute non-invasive screening called an Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) can detects PAD and involves a blood pressure reading in the arm and leg to check for blockages in circulation. The blood pressures are measured using regular blood pressure cuffs and a hand-held Doppler device (similar to ultrasound).

If further testing is required after an abnormal screening result, an Arterial Doppler test may be scheduled by your physician that uses sound waves to check for any obstruction to blood flow. It also checks the speed of the blood flow in the leg.

If the Arterial Doppler indicates that the blood flow in a patient's leg is obstructed, the physician may order an angiogram. During an angiogram, a substance that can be seen under an X-ray is injected into the leg and pictures are taken to define the exact location of the obstruction as well as the surrounding circulation.

Prakash Makam, M.D.

Prakash Makam, M.D., cardiologist and medical director of Cardiovascular Research for Community Healthcare System, serves as the principle investigator for many clinical research studies involving PAD. He also teaches and mentors other physicians in the latest techniques and treatments available for PAD, including live broadcasts of cases performed at Community Hospital.