Kurnool: Medical experts have cautioned that Distal Diffuse Disease (DDD), a condition caused by progressive closure of small blood vessels, poses grave threat to patients and remains extremely difficult to treat once it advances.

According to doctors, the human body relies on an extensive network of blood vessels to transport oxygen to organs and tissues. While blockages in major arteries of heart, brain, or limbs can sometimes be treated with bypass surgery, stents, or medication, smaller blood vessels measuring less than a few millimeters in diameter cannot be repaired once they are damaged. This stage, described as Distal Diffuse Disease, leaves patients with little or no medical intervention available.

Specialists identify diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and alcohol consumption as major contributing factors. In particular, smoking causes nitric oxide-related damage that narrows blood vessels, leading to complete closure over time.

Unlike cancers commonly associated with tobacco use, this disease neither ends life quickly nor allows patients to live normally, instead subjecting them to prolonged suffering.

Dr Chinta Prabhakar Reddy (MS, MCh), Cardio Vascular Thoracic Surgeon (CVTS) at Government General Hospital, Kurnool, urged public to avoid cigarettes, gutka, pan masala, and alcohol. He warned that prevention is the only effective safeguard, as advanced cases of Distal Diffuse Disease render surgical or medical treatments ineffective, turning life into what he described as ‘a living hell’.