DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have peripheral vascular disease with a blockage of an artery in my thigh area. I had the Roto-Rooter done on it, as well as a bypass graft and a clot-buster. All have failed. I saw on TV an artificial graft. Will you please tell me about it, and where it is done? — A.B.

ANSWER: Peripheral vascular disease, also called peripheral artery disease, is blocked circulation in a major leg artery. It’s the same process that goes on in heart arteries that eventually leads to a heart attack if not treated. Cholesterol and other material build up on the wall of the artery and obstruct blood flow. When a major leg artery is affected, muscles downstream of the block become painful when a person walks. People can predict almost to the precise number of steps when pain will occur. If they stop and rest, the pain leaves, and they can continue on. Depending on where the blockage is, pain is felt in the buttocks, thighs, hips or calves.

One way to detect the blockage is to take the blood pressure at the ankles and in the arms. Both should show the same pressure. If the leg pressure is lower than the arm pressure, that indicates a clogged artery.

Controlling blood pressure, not smoking, reducing weight if applicable, lowering cholesterol and exercise are some of the ways of dealing with this problem and preventing it from worsening.

Revascularization, which is re-establishing blood flow, can be done in a variety of ways. When you had a bypass graft, was one of your blood vessels used for the bypass? I take it that it was. Artificial grafts have long been used as a way to “bypass” the clog and establish circulation between the upper and lower unclogged portions of the artery. Dacron and polytetrafluoroethylene are two artificial materials used to re-establish flow through the artery. They work well. After one year from installation of an artificial graft, the artery is wide open 90 percent of the time. After five years, it’s open 70 percent to 80 percent of the time.

You won’t have any trouble finding a local hospital or doctor where artificial graft surgery is done. It’s done in almost every hospital.

The booklet on peripheral vascular (artery) disease explains this condition and its treatment. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue — No. 109, Box 536475, Orlando, FL. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Are there special diets that can be used for a lifetime, or are diets usually for a certain amount of time to lose weight or for some other special reason? — L.J.

ANSWER: “Diet” has come to mean in most people’s minds a program of eating designed for weight loss or some particular illness, like celiac disease. However, the definition of “diet” is “the usual food and drink of a person or persons.”

An ideal, healthy diet is one that focuses on fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Whole grains are the entire grain — unrefined. Whole grains retain their outer coat, the bran. Wheat, rye, barley, oats and all other grains that are not refined are whole grains.

The ideal diet is one that minimizes the intake of red meat and includes at least two fish meals a week. Low-fat dairy products are also part of this sort of diet — fat-reduced milk and cheese. Sugar is kept to a low level. Oils like olive oil are used for cooking and for the replacement of butter and margarine. The diet should also contain 25 to 35 grams of fiber a day. If you switch to whole grains, you get plenty of fiber. This kind of diet is a lifetime diet.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Relative to your article on tinnitus, I recently found an item describing how researchers performed a procedure on rats that eliminates tinnitus. What is your opinion? — R.S.

ANSWER: The researchers eliminated tinnitus (constant ear ringing) by stimulating the vagus nerve, a nerve that comes directly from the brain and has many functions. It’s interesting. Years must elapse before rat information can be transferred to humans, if ever.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

Copy the Story Link