Atherosclerosis, or narrowing of the blood vessels, is one of the most common ailments in the modern world. It’s caused by the gradual build-up of fatty plaque in your veins and arteries. If left untreated, it can lead to heart attacks, permanent brain damage, aneurysms and chronic kidney disease.
This disease is caused by injury to blood vessels. When the vessels become damaged, the body sends repair units to the site. These units patch up the damage with fatty plaque but permanently narrow the artery or vein. Eventually, you accumulate so many repaired spots that you can’t get enough blood through to the organs and tissues that need it. Sometimes the plaque even breaks off and enters the bloodstream. The drifting plaque can make its way to narrower blood vessels and completely block them.
1. Leg Pain While Exercising
Atherosclerosis can affect every area of your body, including your lower half. One sign of this disease is leg pain in your calves, thighs or hips during exercise, a symptom known as claudication. When you exercise, your muscles need increased oxygen from your blood. If the blood vessels are blocked by too much plaque, you can’t get the oxygen you need, leading to pain. Your body doesn’t want you to damage your muscles by forcing them to activate when they don’t have the resources you need, so it tries to make you stop by signaling something is wrong. The pain stops when you rest.
As your condition worsens, you can experience leg pain while resting. This is a sign of advanced atherosclerosis because it means your muscles can’t get oxygen even when they need very little of it. You’ll likely notice this sign more when your legs are elevated. Your heart and circulatory system must work harder to pump blood to your lower body when you’re reclined, especially if your blood vessels are blocked by plaque accumulation.
2. Fatigue
Every part of your body, from your brain to your toenails, needs oxygen to function. When you suffer from atherosclerosis, any task you attempt can be difficult. Your body is constantly straining to force blood through narrow openings. This effort can lead to fatigue, or chronic exhaustion. This is a common symptom in specific types of atherosclerosis that affect heart and brain vessels and can lead to serious health concerns like neurological damage or heart attack. If you’re struggling to find the energy for normal tasks or can’t complete simple exercises like walking or gardening, it’s time to call a doctor.
3. Heart Attack
One of the most serious symptoms of atherosclerosis is a heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction (MI). For many patients, the disease goes unnoticed until a sudden cardiac event sends them to the hospital. If you’re experiencing shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling in your arms or general anxiety, these could be signs of a heart attack. An MI is caused by a lack of oxygen to the heart, often triggered by fatty plaque blocking important vessels. If you’ve experienced an MI, take it as a serious wake-up call to get serious about your health. You can’t live long without a healthy heart.
4. Mini Strokes
The same issues that lead to MIs in patients with atherosclerosis also contribute to mini strokes, or transient ischemic attacks (TIA). A mini stroke occurs when blood flow to your brain or spinal cord is temporarily blocked. Signs of a TIA include difficulty speaking, facial drooping or paralysis, dizziness and vision problems. These symptoms will disappear within a few hours but should be taken extremely seriously. Mini strokes are often followed by full strokes, which can have permanent effects on your daily life. If you experience the signs of a TIA, you need to seek medical care immediately to prevent long-term damage to your brain.
5. Poor Wound Healing
When your body is injured, your immune system gets to work repairing the damage. Because recovery cells are transported through the blood system, atherosclerosis can slow their work. If your wounds take weeks instead of days to scab over and heal, this could be a sign of plaque build-up in your blood vessels. However, poor wound healing can also be caused by many other diseases. Diabetes, hormonal imbalances, arthritis and nutritional deficiencies can all delay your body’s response to injury. Consider your other symptoms before determining for yourself if you’re suffering from atherosclerosis, or ask a doctor to help evaluate your health.
6. Stroke
When atherosclerosis is severe, it can lead to a stroke, which is characterized by the the same symptoms as mini strokes (TIAs) discussed above. Both types of brain damage are caused by fatty plaque entering the blood stream and blocking the vessels that bring oxygen to the brain. They can also be caused by the gradual accumulation of plaque on these vessels. Some strokes are completely debilitating, leaving you paralyzed and unable to care for yourself. As with a TIA, it is imperative that you call 911 or have someone bring you to the hospital if you suddenly develop any of the signs of this serious symptom.
7. Chest Pain
A lack of blood flow to your carotid arteries can result in chest pain, or angina. You might feel sharp, piercing pain or pressure in your chest, shoulders, arms or jaw. The pain will likely increase with exercise or emotional discomfort. As with the other symptoms of atherosclerosis, angina is caused by narrowed blood vessels. It is a very serious symptom that may indicate an active myocardial infarction. When you experience pain in your upper body, you must immediately seek medical attention so a doctor can determine if you need surgery or long-term management. Do not drive yourself, as angina can quickly become life-threatening and cause you to lose control of your vehicle.
8. Shortness of Breath
Chest pain is often accompanied by shortness of breath. When your heart fails to get enough oxygen, it creates a cascading effect on other organs in the body, including the lungs. Shortness of breath can also be caused by the same mechanism as atherosclerosis-related brain damage: Fatty acid accumulation on the blood vessels leading to the lungs. As with angina and a loss of brain flow to the brain, shortness of breath can indicate a serious and immediate health concern. You should contact a medical professional immediately if you find yourself struggling to breath, especially if you’re also experiencing chest pain, difficulty walking or talking or facial paralysis.
