Buerger Disease

Diagnosis

There’s no test that can diagnose Buerger disease. But tests can be done to check for other common conditions that may cause similar symptoms.

Tests may include:

• Blood tests. Blood tests may be done to check for diabetes, blood-clotting disorders, or autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma or lupus.
• Exam of the arteries in hands and feet. Blood pressure cuffs and ultrasound imaging are used to see how blood moves through the hands and feet. This test is often done in a special vascular laboratory. But it can be done at a medical provider’s office. Other tests may be done to check blood flow to the skin.
• CT or MRI scan of the blood vessels. These tests show blood flow in the arteries. Before the images are taken, a special dye may be given by IV. The dye helps the arteries show up more clearly on the images.
• Angiogram of the hands and feet. This invasive test helps health care providers see blockages in the very small blood vessels of the hands and feet. A long, thin flexible tube called a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel. Dye, also called contrast, flows through the catheter to arteries in the heart. The dye helps the arteries show up more clearly on X-ray images and video.

Treatment

There’s no cure for Buerger disease. The only proven treatment for Buerger disease is to quit using all tobacco products. Even one cigarette a day can make the disease worse. This includes using electronic cigarettes, vaping and using marijuana.

If you have Buerger disease and smoke or use tobacco in any form, talk to your health care provider about ways to quit. Nicotine replacement products aren’t an option because they still have nicotine in them. Nicotine is thought to irritate the blood vessels. Your health care provider can recommend other medicines that might help.

Another option is a live-in program to help you stop smoking. You typically stay at a treatment center or hospital for a few days or weeks. You’ll learn how to stop cravings for cigarettes and how to live tobacco-free.

Other treatments for Buerger disease symptoms are available, but they don’t work as well as quitting smoking. Those treatments may include medicines, compression therapy and surgery.

Medicines

If you have Buerger disease, your health care provider may recommend medicine to improve blood flow. For example, some blood pressure medicines may be helpful. Aspirin may be given to prevent blood clots.

A medicine called bosentan (Tracleer) may be tried if you have very severe Buerger disease symptoms. It’s approved to treat high blood pressure in the lungs. But a few studies showed that it improved blood flow in people with Buerger disease.

Other medicines depend on your symptoms and other health conditions. Medicines may be given to treat pain or heal skin sores.

Therapies

If you have Buerger disease, your provider may suggest a medicine-free treatment called compression therapy. Your health care provider may call this treatment intermittent pneumatic compression pumping. This treatment puts pressure on the affected body area to improve blood flow.

During compression therapy, you wear a sleeve over the affected arm or leg. The sleeve connects to a pump. The pump sends air into the sleeve on and off. The sleeve inflates, gently squeezing the affected body area. The pressure increases blood flow to the area.

Surgery or other procedures

Buerger disease causes a severe lack of blood flow, which can damage skin tissue or cause it to die. Surgery may be needed to remove an arm or leg that’s infected or has dead tissue. This surgery is called amputation.