Scott Webb: Today I'm speaking with a plumber, well, not that kind of plumber. I'm speaking with Dr. Kayla Zorn, who refers to herself as a plumber, but officially she's a board-certified vascular surgeon at Franciscanhealth.org, and she's here to talk about women's vascular health and how she can help patient's.

Scott Webb (Host): This is the Franciscan Health Doc Pod. I'm Scott Webb.

Scott Webb: Dr. Zorn, nice to have you here today. As I was mentioning to you, we've been on a run lately of talking about women in their hearts and staying heart healthy and all that important stuff. Today we're gonna focus more on vascular health. So let's just start there. Like what are some of the signs of peripheral artery disease that women often miss?

I.

Dr. Kala Zorn: So peripheral artery disease is poor blood flow to your legs. The heart disease is poor blood flow to the heart, but you have arteries that go everywhere in. Your body that can be affected. And the peripheral artery disease can cause anything from pain with walking to pain all of the time.

People can get wounds And the worst case scenario for peripheral artery disease is that you would require an amputation of your leg.

Scott Webb: That is definitely the worst case scenario. And when we think about framing this as signs that, women miss, is it because we just chalk those things up? Do they just chalk them up to other things? Oh, I've been walking a lot. I've been running a lot. I've been playing a lot of pickleball and maybe don't realize that there's an underlying cause.

Dr. Kala Zorn: Yeah, I think women especially tough things out and don't realize that there could be something going on. One of the first signs of peripheral artery disease is pain in your legs with activity that gets better with rest. Um, So, it can feel like, You know, you had a good workout and you had cramping.

But if it gets better with rest, that can be a sign that you're not getting enough blood flow to your legs.

Scott Webb: Yeah, that, that makes sense. And, easier to understand with your expertise, how women might miss that. So let's then talk about the link between venous disease hormones and pregnancy.

Dr. Kala Zorn: So venous disease is different in that your veins are responsible for carrying blood back to the heart. The peripheral artery disease is your arteries bring blood to the feet, And so they're a separate issue. But both still, have symptoms that. A lot of women ignore, when it comes to the veins.

Usually. There's one-way valves that help move the blood and people can have the valves malfunction, And that means that you have more blood that sits in your legs for a longer period of time. Hormones, especially during pregnancy, can actually relax your vein walls. And then during pregnancy, the baby sitting in the pelvis, that can put pressure on your veins as well.

But a lot of vein problems are,, actually genetic. If you have a parent that has vein disease, you have about 50% chance. Of having it yourself. If both of your parents have it, you have about a 90% chance.

Scott Webb: Yeah, because I wanted to ask you, you know, so much of what we discuss, with the Franciscanhealth.org experts, You know, it ends up being like a lot of lifestyle and behavior choices, but it sounds to me like we start thinking about, You know, peripheral Artery disease, PAD, or venous disease.

A lot of This is just maybe beyond our control And that we got it, You know, family history, genetic wise, And then we just maybe need to be aware of that and speak with our providers. Is that right?

Dr. Kala Zorn: So venous disease, yes. A lot of it is out of your control, but there are some very simple things that you can do, to help prevent it from getting worse. So anybody who. Stands for a living, nurses, restaurant, workers, hairdressers, if they wear compression socks while they're standing for a long period of time, that helps support the veins,, to help prevent things from getting worse.

When it comes to peripheral artery disease, That is very similar to heart disease And that a lot of things that we do,, are preventable. I always point people to the American Heart Association's Life's Essential Eight, where it talks about eight different things that we can pay attention to that will help reduce your risk of getting heart disease along with peripheral artery disease, and really any disease in your arteries in the body.

Scott Webb: Sure. All right. So venous diseases can be more of a genetic thing, PAD, more lifestyle behavior. Good stuff. Great to have your expertise. And that's where I wanted to go next is find out like your role, a vascular specialist role in prevention and intervention.

Dr. Kala Zorn: I always say the vascular surgeon is the ugly stepsister compared to the cardiologist because heart disease gets all of this, recognition. But vascular disease works just the same. So I am the plumber of the body. I fix arteries and veins everywhere except for the heart And the brain. I work with people who have peripheral artery disease, who have the vein disease, and a lot of conversations that I have are about prevention.

Lifestyle changes. Getting people on medications that can help prevent, you know, further plaque buildup in their arteries. So even though we are surgeons, a lot of stuff that we do is trying to prevent the surgery that, you know, you may need in the future.

Scott Webb: Yeah, I've heard that before, doctor, that, You know, we as laypeople, we just picture surgeons. We go walk in the office and they're just sitting there with a scalpel in their hand, or, the robot is nearby And the, that you just can't wait to do surgery. But the reality is it's often a last resort, right.

Dr. Kala Zorn: Correct. Yeah. So the goal in, you know, us working with primary care doctors especially is recognizing people in the early stages. In the early stages of peripheral artery disease, 70% of people are never gonna get worse. And with the right interventions, I think that we can increase that number even more.

And so a lot of our role is in prevention, education, making sure that people understand. You know, certain signs that they should notify us about, so that we can catch problems before they become serious enough that you would need a surgery.

Scott Webb: Right. Yeah. As you say that, there are electricians, right? That work on the body, And then there are plumbers and, and you're one of the plumbers. So as we wrap up here, just final thoughts, takeaways, best practices, best advice for all of us, but especially women, to have better vascular health and prove their vascular health, all that good stuff.

Dr. Kala Zorn: Yeah, so number one, do not smoke. Smoking is the easiest modifiable risk factor when it comes to vascular disease in general. So getting help if you do smoke or. Not starting, if you don't, is the most important. Making sure that you see your primary care doctor to look for high blood pressure and diabetes and to check your cholesterol, And then exercising, getting enough sleep, and a healthy diet.

Scott Webb: Yeah. And of course that's great advice for all of us all the time, uh, but especially from a plumber, quote unquote, you know, when it comes to women's vascular health. doctor, thanks so much for your time today. I really appreciate your expertise. I.

Dr. Kala Zorn: Thanks for having me.

Scott Webb: And to learn more, visit franciscanhealth.org dot org slash her heart.

Host: And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels, and be sure to check out the full podcast library for additional topics of interest. This is the Franciscan Health Doc Pod. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well, and we'll talk again next time.