Gingko & Peripheral Vascular Disease

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Gingko & Peripheral Vascular Disease

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Q. The blood flow to my feet is quite poor. They will often feel

heavy with pins and needles; and they are cold all of the time even

if it quite warm. I am 72 years old and otherwise I am in very good

health. Do you have any suggestions?

 

A.You may be suffering from peripheral vascular disease. This term

is the medical term used to describe decreased blood flow to the

hands and/or feet. My first recommendation is to get regular

physical exercise. A regular walking program has been shown to

improve blood flow to all body tissues.

 

Next I would recommend Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE). Although GBE is

becoming a well-known treatment for decreased blood supply to the

brain (cerebral vascular insufficiency) and Alzheimer's disease it

is also useful in cases of decreased blood supply to the arms, legs,

hands, and feet (peripheral arterial disease).

 

After all, peripheral vascular disease has as its primary cause the

same cholesterol-containing plaque that is responsible for other

conditions associated with hardening of the arteries such as heart

disease, cerebral vascular insufficiency, and strokes. In peripheral

vascular disease, the arterial obstruction or narrowing causes a

reduction in blood flow during exercise or at rest.

 

In addition to the symptoms that you are complaining of, many people

with peripheral arterial disease experience pain upon exertion -

intermittent claudication. The pain usually occurs in the calf and

is described as a cramp or tightness or severe fatigue. The pain of

intermittent claudication is quite similar to the chest pain

associated with angina.

 

The cause of the pain is not only reduced oxygen delivery, but also

an increase in the production of toxic metabolites and cellular free

radicals. These free radicals accumulate and react with the lipid

constituents of the cell membrane.

 

GBE has been shown to be an effective treatment for intermittent

claudication. The best results have been shown with higher dosages

of GBE (160 to 240 mg daily have produced increases in pain-free

walking distance of 90%) as well as when using GBE bound to

phosphatidylcholine (Ginkgo Phytosome at a dosage of 180 mg daily

has produced increases of 120% in the same category of patients).

 

www.doctormurray.com

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