When people hear “poor circulation,” they often assume the answer is a procedure. Not so fast. In this episode of Knife Down, Dr. Jacqueline Majors and I talk about when opening a blocked artery helps, when it backfires, and why the real work of saving legs often starts long before the operating room.
We get into what patients with poor circulation, blocked leg arteries, leg pain with walking, smoking-related vascular disease, and diabetes actually need to know. We talk about when a procedure helps, when it can make things worse, why not every blockage should be opened, and how lifestyle change, medical therapy, and careful decision-making can sometimes save a limb better than another stent.
We also talk about what vascular surgery training gets right and what it misses, how Dr. Majors built a limb salvage-focused private practice, why strength training matters for vascular patients, and how to help people make meaningful changes without shame, perfectionism, or all-or-nothing thinking.
Dr. Jacqueline Majors, MD is a board-certified vascular surgeon, Co-Owner, and Director of Limb Salvage at Zenith Vascular & Fibroid Center in Memphis, Tennessee. She is CEO of Vascular Excellence, PLLC, a consulting firm spanning expert witness work and locum tenens. She is also Founder and CEO of AnatomyPad, a patient education and operative planning product. She has performed multiple first-in-state procedures in Tennessee, including absorbable stents, retrievable BTK stents, advanced thrombectomy, and intravascular lithotripsy.
Dr. Majors is a two-time Castle Connolly Top Doctor and multiple Top Doctor in Tennessee award recipient. She serves as an industry KOL, speaking nationally on drug-coated balloon therapy, intravascular lithotripsy, carotid disease, and limb salvage. She hosts Center of Excellence courses in Memphis, is the Vice Chair of the Young Physicians Association for the Tennessee Medical Association, and serves on the Board of the Memphis Medical Society.
A former Division I athlete and nationally licensed soccer coach, she brings that same discipline to medicine, business, and patient care. Her philosophy: excellence is not an outcome. It is a discipline.
Find Dr. Majors here:
https://www.instagram.com/zenithmemphis/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/zenith-memphis/
https://www.facebook.com/zenithmemphis
This episode is for education only and is not personal medical advice. If you have symptoms of poor circulation, a nonhealing wound, rest pain, or concern for blocked arteries, please talk with your own physician.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:18 Why prevention matters in vascular surgery
04:07 Nutrition, sleep, stress, and the athlete mindset
08:07 Why she chose vascular surgery
10:57 Talking to patients about new procedures
14:13 What vascular training misses about lifestyle
16:43 Nutrition philosophy: from “eat healthy” to low-carb Mediterranean
22:38 Patient stories: saving limbs without rushing to procedure
27:12 Why not every blocked leg artery should be fixed
31:24 Why poor circulation is underrecognized
34:35 Building a limb salvage-focused private practice
43:24 Social media, physician education, and the modern doctor
49:59 How Dr. Majors approaches food, exercise, and habit change
57:05 Walking, strength training, and insulin resistance
01:01:00 Helping patients who aren’t ready to change
01:05:44 Smoking, diabetes, and whether all plaque is the same
01:08:05 What medical management vascular surgeons should own
01:11:34 How to get screened for poor circulation
01:13:53 The top 3 ways to prevent blocked leg arteries
01:15:15 Favorite procedures, resources, and AnatomyPad
01:19:30 Where to find Dr. Jacqueline Majors
Sign up for more information on my own practice here: https://corsighthealth.com/
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24 mins