SAVING LIVES & LIMBS: ONE PATIENT AT A TIME
SAVING LIVES & LIMBS:
ONE PATIENT AT A TIME
ONE PATIENT AT A TIME
CARDIOVASCULAR EXPERTS
April 24, 2022 – Patriot News
Before the procedures that changed her life, Beverly States couldn’t walk without getting out of breath. Her chest, back, and legs hurt. The simple joys of life, like gardening, were impossible to do. Her own doctor couldn’t solve the problem, so he referred her to Cardiovascular Experts in Camp Hill.
There she met Dr. Rajesh Davé. He diagnosed her with blocked arteries in the heart and legs, and performed cardiac and endovascular interventions to clear those blockages using stents.
“I was like a normal person again,” Beverly says now. “He gave me my life back. I was able to do things that I hadn’t been able to do before.”
Providing an expert second opinion is a profound responsibility to Dr. Davé, a
pioneer in minimally invasive cardiac and endovascular interventions. While other vascular surgeons might resort to the drastic option of amputation to prevent the life-threatening consequences of peripheral arterial disease, a condition that narrows the arteries in limbs and causes reduced blood flow, Dr. Davé uses catheter-based therapies to open arteries and save limbs – all with only a small incision and no overnight hospital stay.
Because leg pain can have many causes, doctors often overlook arterial disease as the source of discomfort and festering wounds in the leg. By the time patients get a second opinion from Dr. Davé, many think they have run out of options. They are overjoyed to learn that a simple diagnostic test and a state-ofthe-art procedure, covered by insurance, can save their legs.
After diagnosis, an endovascular intervention restores blood flow and “substantially reduces the risk of amputation,” says Dr. Davé. The pain relief is immediate. “The patient is discharged the same day. They can get up and walk around within an hour, and they can go home.”
The last 20 years have seen dramatic advances in treatments for blockages in leg and heart arteries. Dr. Davé, who originally trained in New York City with the surgeon who developed these procedures, brought what he learned to central Pennsylvania. He has kept pace as the procedures have become more durable and streamlined, and today, he is sought out by physicians worldwide for training and consultation.
Who’s at risk of peripheral artery disease and its consequences? The primary risk factors are family history, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, and obesity. Symptoms include leg pain, coolness in one leg, poor toenail growth
and decreased leg hair growth, and sores or wounds on the leg, including wounds that won’t heal.
In fact, one in five Americans over age 65 is diagnosed with peripheral artery disease every year.
“Anyone who suffers from any of these conditions should talk to their doctor
about whether a screening for heart artery disease or leg artery disease is
appropriate,” says Dr. Davé. “It’s a painless, fast test to reduce the chance of heart attack or leg amputation.”
Our Cardiovascular Experts prioritize patient health, happiness, and long-term results for better lives.
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