Limb Salvage Program
Dialysis Access Program
What is PAD and CLI?
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a serious condition in which blood flow to the arms and/or legs is reduced due to narrowed blood vessels whose walls have been built up with fat deposits. This can cause leg and/or feet pain, cold, numbness, fatigue, and cramping, as well as skin color changes and non-healing sores and calluses.
People with high blood pressure or cholesterol are at elevated risk, as are smokers (tobacco use increases the risk for PAD by 400%), people over 50, obese people, diabetes sufferers, and anyone with a history of heart problems.
CLI (Critical Limb Ischemia) is the most serious form of PAD in which the feet or toes experience severe, constant pain, even during rest. CLI develops after PAD has been present for an extended period of time and has advanced to the point of being life-threatening, requiring immediate treatment.
Vascare is an Access Center for ESRD
The program aims to optimize and maintain vascular access through procedures such as arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation, arteriovenous graft (AVG) placement, and catheter insertion for hemodialysis. By ensuring efficient blood flow for dialysis treatments, VasCare enhances patient outcomes, reduces complications, and improves quality of life for individuals managing ESRD.
The Current State of PAD and CLI in Texas and Beyond
More than 6 million Americans aged 40 and older suffer from PAD, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Surveys have shown more than 40% of Americans over age 40 have experienced symptoms. African Americans are at the highest risk for both contracting PAD and requiring amputation because of PAD. Asymptomatic PAD occurs more often in women than men (13% vs. 9% in one study), although after age 59 men outpace women in PAD diagnoses progressively faster into ages 70+ and 80+.
It’s well-established that diabetes and PAD occurrences are positively correlated, South Texas is known as being among the worst impacted by PAD/CLI in the entire country. As of the most recent figures from the CDC, Nueces County’s age-adjusted percentage of diabetes diagnoses in adults 20 and older was 10.5%, high enough to make it the 15th-worst out of 254 Texas counties. The county has maintained one of the state’s highest rates of lower-extremity amputations among diabetes patients for well over a decade.
What is the VasCare Advantage?
Performed in Office
Covered by Insurance
Minimally Invasive
We Accept Most Insurance
