Vascular Diseases

A vascular disease is any abnormal condition affecting the blood vessel⁴ network of arteries, veins and capillaries. They affect millions of people every year, either as independent conditions or complications of underlying metabolic diseases⁵.

CHRONIC VENOUS INSUFFICIENCY

Affecting a patient’s lower extremities with venous hypertension causing pain, swelling, edema, skin changes, and ulceration, Chronic Venous Insufficiency⁶ (CVI) can severely affect day-to-day life⁷.

HEMORRHOIDS

Developing inside and/or outside the anus, hemorrhoids – more commonly known as piles – are engorged and inflamed veins and can bring with them bleeding, itching, pain, discomfort during and after bowel movements and tender lumps near the anus⁸.

MICROANGIOPATHIES

Microangiopathies are diseases affecting small blood vessels – usually capillaries – and are most common in diabetes patients and usually referred to as diabetic microvascular complications⁹.

Such microvascular complications can severely damage eyes (retinopathy), kidneys (nephropathy) and nerves (neuropathy):

Diabetic Retinopathy is a microvascular complication of diabetes, its prevalence increasing with the duration of the disease. It is associated with diabetic macular oedema, considered the principal cause of vision loss in working-age diabetic patients, whatever their gender.

Diabetic Nephropathy – or diabetic kidney disease – is another microvascular complication of diabetes, again its prevalence increasing with the duration of the disease. Associated with the chronic deterioration of kidney function characterised by a protein loss in the urine, it is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease.

Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy – the most common microvascular complication of diabetes – is also more frequent in long-term diabetic patients. Associated with limb and foot disorders, it is the main cause of disability due to foot ulceration and amputation, gait disturbance and fall-related injury.

Vascular Diseases