Zhang old man has more than 2 months to celebrate his 100th birthday, although it is already the age of the elderly, but the old man is usually physically strong, leisure time walking, playing mahjong, life is very comfortable. The only thing that has bothered Zhang for many years is the old problem of cold leg pain. At first, just walking for a long time after the calf pain weakness, a little rest can be relieved, so he did not take it seriously. But recently, the old man often woke up in the middle of the night with pain when he was sleeping, and some of his toes began to dry up and blacken. The children accompanied the old man to the hospital for a checkup, and the vascular surgeon told him that it was lower limb atherosclerosis occlusive disease, and that he needed to undergo interventional treatment as soon as possible. Arteries “rust” silently Zhang old man always thought that only the heart arteries will be blocked to cause heart attack, how the arteries on the legs can also occur “leg infarction”? In fact, atherosclerosis is a systemic disease involving the arteries of the whole body, and lower limb atherosclerosis is a local manifestation of atherosclerosis in the legs. With the change of national diet structure and the extension of per capita life expectancy, atherosclerosis has become the most common disease among middle-aged and elderly people, with a prevalence rate of 79.9% among people over 60 years old, of which about 15% to 20% of elderly people suffer from lower limb atherosclerosis occlusive disease. In hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia “three high” patients and obese, smoking population, the incidence of lower limb atherosclerosis occlusive disease is higher, and the onset of age has a trend of younger. The earliest symptom of lower limb atherosclerosis occlusive disease is cold legs and feet, numbness, patients will walk for a period of time after the affected limb muscle soreness, then if you sit down for a moment, the soreness can be relieved or disappear, but then walk a certain distance after the pain will be repeated, this is the so-called “intermittent claudication”. If no active intervention and treatment is taken at this time, the arterial blockage will be further aggravated, and the limb will be in a state of extreme ischemia even at rest, resulting in severe pain at the end of the toes, especially at night. At the same time, the skin and muscle tissue gradually lose vitality due to severe ischemia, resulting in toe ulcers or blackened necrosis, which often cannot be controlled by general anti-infective drugs. Minimally invasive interventional arterial recanalization The traditional surgical treatment for lower extremity atherosclerosis is arterial bypass surgery, but the surgery is difficult and traumatic, which is absolutely unbearable for a 100-year-old man like Mr. Zhang. At present, the most common and effective method is minimally invasive percutaneous angioplasty, which has the advantages of less trauma, less bleeding and better efficacy. On the second day after admission, Zhang was successfully treated with minimally invasive treatment. The doctor made a 2 mm skin incision at the root of the old man’s thigh after local anesthesia, and sent a tiny balloon and stent through the femoral artery under the angiography machine to open up the completely blocked artery, which instantly warmed up the old man’s cold leg and foot. The whole treatment process took only 2 hours, and on the second day after the operation, old man Zhang could walk on the ground. 3 days later, he went home happily with a satisfied smile. Active prevention and control of legs and feet easily Although there is no drug that can completely control the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis. However, through active and reasonable diet, quit smoking and limit alcohol, increase exercise, oral small doses of blood-boosting drugs, treatment of “three high” disease and other measures, can effectively alleviate the development of atherosclerosis and increase the arterial blood supply to the lower limbs. Local warmth and massage are also effective in preventing and relieving symptoms. Especially in the cold season, it is important to pay attention to the cold and warmth.