Vascular services

We know how difficult it might be to move when you have blockages in your blood vessels. At Aurora Health Care, our vascular experts are here to diagnose and treat conditions affecting your veins, arteries, blood and lymphatic system (part of the immune system).

Whatever your condition, from aneurysms to blood clots, our decades of experience and advanced technologies can help you get the relief and results you need.

What are vascular services?

Vascular services encompass many things, such as the diagnosis, management and treatment of heart conditions that affect your veins and arteries. A vascular specialist will typically start by running some tests to screen for blood clots, aneurysms, venous diseases and other heart problems. Based on the severity of your condition and your symptoms, your health care provider might suggest a variety of treatment options ranging from lifestyle changes to vascular surgery.

Vascular conditions we treat

We treat every major type of vascular disease and condition including:

• Arterial disease: These are health conditions related to your arteries and their functioning including carotid artery disease and peripheral artery disease.
• Venous disease: These are diseases that primarily affect your veins like blood clots, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or varicose and spider veins.
• Blood clots and clotting disorders: Blood clots inside your arteries or veins are dangerous as they can block blood flow to your organs.
• Aortic aneurysms: The wall of your aortic artery can weaken, bulge and – if not caught in time – burst and cause you to bleed internally (aneurysms).

Testing for vascular conditions

Vascular testing helps your doctor identify disorders inside your veins, blocked arteries or aneurysms. Common vascular tests include:

• Angiography: This procedure looks at the blood vessels in your neck to determine if you have any blocked arteries, aneurysms or carotid artery disease. It also enables us to assess your stroke risk.
• Radiographic imaging: This uses CT scans, X-rays and MRI to detect plaque in your coronary arteries. It also screens for aneurysms, heart disease, aortic aneurysms and pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in your lungs).
• Electrocardiogram (EKG): This noninvasive test checks your heart’s electrical activity to detect arrhythmia, coronary artery disease, aortic aneurysms and heart attacks.
• Echocardiogram: Also known as a heart ultrasound or echo test, this test is noninvasive and takes an ultrasound of your heart to check for holes or abnormalities.

Learn more about heart and vascular testing and diagnosis at Aurora.

Treatments for vascular conditions

Treatments for vascular conditions can vary from lifestyle changes to vascular surgery. We aim to improve your vein-related conditions in the least disruptive ways possible. We may prescribe medication or suggest lifestyle changes including:

• Eating healthier
• Exercising more
• Losing weight
• Quitting smoking

Another option is minimally invasive endovascular procedures performed inside blood vessels using a catheter. There are also interventional treatments that are typically less invasive than traditional surgery.

Both endovascular and interventional procedures are often done on an outpatient basis. These procedures include:

• Stent graft repairs for abdominal aortic aneurysms: We remove a damaged piece of artery and reconnect the two healthy pieces with a metal stent (small tube).
• Angioplasty: We use a catheterization procedure to open a blocked leg, arm or kidney artery. A metal stent keeps the arteries open.
• Inferior vena cava filter (IVC) placement: This special filter can help prevent blood clots in your legs from traveling to your lungs.
• Thrombolytic therapy: In this procedure, we inject medicine into your body to break up life-threatening blood clots.

What surgeries are used to treat common vascular conditions?

If nonsurgical and outpatient procedures are unsuccessful, your health care provider might turn to vascular surgery options. When necessary, we use traditional surgery to repair aneurysms and blocked arteries.

Peripheral artery disease treatments could include vascular surgery:

• Bypass surgery: Your vascular surgeon will redirect blood flow around the blockage using a blood vessel from another part of your leg or a synthetic material.
• Endarterectomy: In this procedure, we remove plaque and sometimes part of the damaged inner lining of your arteries around a blockage to allow your blood to flow more freely.

Carotid artery disease treatments could include a type of vascular surgery called endarterectomy for carotid artery disease. During this procedure, your vascular surgeon makes an incision in your neck to remove plaque that built up in your carotid artery.

Why you should choose Aurora Health Care for vascular services

People from around eastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois choose our hospitals and clinics for our track record of safety and excellence. You can feel confident with our:  

• National ranking: U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks our heart program among the best in the country. We’re dedicated to improving and transforming heart care.
• Top team: Our vascular doctors collaborate to provide compassionate care and devise the best treatment plan with your needs in mind. Meet our vascular team.
• Innovative research: We’re leaders in clinical trials and cardiovascular research to study new vascular treatments. We also study new devices to treat heart failure, arrhythmia and other types of heart disease. 
• Coordinated appointments: Whenever possible, we’ll schedule multiple appointments on the same day to save you time.
• Top-quality care: Because we’re a coordinated health system with many locations, you can expect excellent vascular testing and treatment in many eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois locations. If you have a complicated condition or require specialized treatment, we can refer you to our advanced Vascular Center at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center.