You wake up and notice your ankles look puffy. Or, by the end of a long day, your shoes feel tight. Swelling in ankles is one of the most common concerns I hear about at Coastal Vascular Center. The causes range from...
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Swollen ankles are easy to dismiss, but they can signal serious vascular conditions like venous insufficiency or deep vein thrombosis. Dr. Ayar of Coastal Vascular Center in Houston explains the six m...
When a patient comes to me with leg pain, a foot wound that will not heal, or worries about circulation, I usually start with one simple test. It is called the ankle-brachial index test, or ABI. It...
"It's probably just my age." I hear some version of this almost every week. A patient comes in, often at the urging of a spouse or adult child, with legs that have felt swollen, achy, and heavy for...
A vascular specialist is a doctor who diagnoses and treats conditions that affect your blood vessels (arteries and veins) throughout the body. Vascular care focuses o...
Patients often ask me, "Why did I get a blood clot?" It is a good question, because the answer helps prevent the next one. The causes of DVT usually involve more than one thing at once. For example,...
By the end of a long shift, many of my patients describe their legs the same way: tired, achy, and so heavy they feel like lead. Heavy legs are easy to brush off as a normal part of getting older or...
Many of my patients first hear the term "vascular disease" from their primary care doctor, often without much explanation. The phrase sounds serious, and in fact it can be. However, it simply...
Dark spots or patches on the legs can be frustrating, and they often raise a fair question: is this a skin problem or a circulation problem? One common cause is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation,...
Many patients come to me after years of aching, swollen legs and bulging veins. Often they have heard of a vein procedure but are not sure what actually happens. So in this article, I explain how...
Many patients come to my office expecting that a blocked artery or a bad vein means a large incision and a long hospital stay. Often, that is no longer the case. Interventional radiology is a...
Patients often ask me what they can do to prevent vascular disease, especially when a parent or sibling has had a stroke, a heart attack, or leg artery problems. It is a smart question to ask....
Many circulation problems develop quietly, with few or no symptoms until they are advanced. That is why I am a strong believer in vascular screening for people with risk factors. A screening uses...
When patients tell me their legs feel heavy, tired, or crampy, one of the first things I talk about is movement. The right exercises to improve circulation can help blood move through both your...
Cold feet, tingling toes, or legs that ache by the end of the day are easy to brush off. However, these can be symptoms of poor circulation, and sometimes they point to a condition that needs...
A small scrape on the leg should heal in a week or two. When it does not, something deeper is often going on. In my practice, I see many patients who have treated a sore for months with creams and...
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