Caring for your blood vessels protects your heart
Take heart: Smaller incisions in vascular surgery mean shorter recovery.
Every February, American Heart Month reminds us to consider heart disease and how to prevent it (and so might the ubiquitous red valentines). But caring for your ticker goes beyond just the heart muscle — it’s also about keeping all the connected blood vessels just as healthy.
“Without healthy blood vessels, you can’t have a healthy heart and vice versa,” says Jeremy Irvan, MD, a vascular surgeon at Geisinger. “When we live a heart-healthy lifestyle, we’re not only reducing our risk for heart disease, but also heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms and more.”
So, take your health to heart this February by talking to your doctor about routine vascular screenings. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or other vascular disease risk factors, preventive screenings can save your life.
Advanced vascular care close to home
Your blood vessels — veins, which carry blood to your heart, and arteries, which carry blood to the rest of your body — can have a variety of conditions, from common to complex. Some we consider unsightly or uncomfortable, like varicose veins and spider veins. More serious conditions include peripheral artery disease, stroke, blood clots and aneurysms.
Central and northeastern Pennsylvanians can find world-class care for all these conditions from Geisinger’s vascular surgeons, who are trained in the latest technology, diagnostic testing and treatments for vascular conditions. Whenever possible, they use minimally invasive surgery, such as robotic and image-guided techniques.
“For the patient, this means smaller incisions, shorter hospital stays and recovery times with a reduced risk of complications,” says Dr. Irvan. “Some marks left behind are no bigger than you’d see from a simple IV placement.”
He points to one advanced procedure called transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR) that he’s been performing on patients since 2018. TCAR is a stenting procedure to improve blood flow to the brain and prevent a stroke. But it offers a key advantage over traditional stenting by reversing blood flow across the blockage, decreasing the risk of a piece of plaque breaking off, which could cause a stroke.
“TCAR is a new way to deploy a stent for someone who has carotid narrowing and a risk for stroke,” says Dr. Irvan. “The ‘gold standard’ open surgery to remove plaque from the carotid artery is known as endarterectomy. But studies have shown TCAR is approaching equivalent outcomes with endarterectomy. That’s profound.”
Easy recovery from vascular surgery
Centre County resident Rob Brown recently had TCAR to open up a narrowing in his carotid artery. A local hospital had referred Mr. Brown to Dr. Irvan after doctors discovered the blockage while treating him for a minor stroke — because Geisinger is the only healthcare system in the region with the facilities and expertise to do the procedure.
Dr. Irvan made a small incision above Mr. Brown’s collarbone to place the stent, using only local anesthetic. And because Mr. Brown chose to be awake during the procedure, he had a remarkable recovery and great outcome.
“As soon as the procedure was finished, I was done and ready to go,” says the 77-year-old retired social studies teacher. “The recovery was so easy. The care I received was top of the line.”
Watch more of Rob Brown’s story.
Arterial surgery helps outdoorsman rediscover his passion
Michael Gill, 66, had always been an outdoorsman. But over the past few years, the Clearfield, Pa., resident couldn’t hike, hunt and fish like he used to. His left leg had weakened to the point that he developed a limp and would have to stop and rest constantly when he was on his feet.“I had to give up a lot of things I enjoyed doing,” says Mr. Gill. “I assumed the reality was that my days of doing things I love were over.”
That all changed after an orthopaedist referred him to Geisinger vascular surgeon Jeremy Irvan, MD. Dr. Irvan discovered Mr. Gill had peripheral arterial disease — a blockage in his iliac artery that restricted blood flow to his leg.
In November 2023, Mr. Gill had an outpatient procedure during which Dr. Irvan placed a stent to open the blocked artery. Almost immediately, his leg strength returned to normal. He could go right back to his previous level of activity, with no restrictions. Just 2 days after his surgery, Mr. Gill hiked 1.5 miles.
“I was zooming around the woods. I hadn't been able to do that for a long time,” he says. “I'm just elated. Until Geisinger did the procedure, I didn’t realize what I had lost.”
This story originally appeared in the winter issue of PA Health, our quarterly full-color magazine filled with wellness tips, inspiring stories and more.
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