Vascular Diseases

Brief Description of Vascular Diseases

Vascular diseases encompass a wide range of conditions that affect blood circulation both in the major blood vessels and in the delicate network of the microcirculation.

From diabetic foot and chronic venous ulcers to limb ischemia and tissue necrosis, these are conditions that often progress silently and can lead to serious complications if they are not treated promptly and comprehensively.

The common denominator in most vascular diseases is inadequate tissue oxygenation, either due to narrowing or obstruction of blood vessels or due to dysfunction of the microcirculation.

This very deficiency is the primary target of treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber: by functioning as a complement to conventional vascular treatment, it restores oxygenation even where blood supply is severely compromised.

Key Characteristics of the Treatment

Under hyperbaric conditions, oxygen dissolves in large quantities directly into the blood plasma, independently of hemoglobin and narrowed blood vessels.

This means that it can reach tissues that normally lack adequate blood supply, essentially “bypassing” the vascular damage to nourish the cells in need.

In the vascular field, hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy stands out for four key properties: its ability to induce neoangiogenesis through VEGF, meaning the formation of new blood vessels in ischemic areas; its anti-inflammatory action, which breaks the vicious cycle of ischemia and inflammation; its bactericidal action against anaerobic pathogens that thrive in the hypoxic environment of chronic wounds; and the activation of healing cells, such as fibroblasts and keratinocytes, which are impaired under hypoxic conditions.

Scientific Clinical Trials & Community

The vascular indications for hyperbaric oxygen are among the most extensively documented applications of the method. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) and the European Committee for Hyperbaric Medicine (ECHM) have included conditions such as diabetic foot, necrotizing fasciitis, gas gangrene, and chronic ischemic wounds among the approved indications with a high level of scientific evidence.

Randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated reductions in amputation rates in diabetic foot patients, accelerated healing of chronic ulcers, and improved microcirculation in patients who received hyperbaric oxygen as a complement to conventional treatment.

The scientific community consistently recognizes that the best outcomes are achieved when the method is applied as part of a comprehensive treatment plan rather than as a standalone intervention.