Atherosclerosis triggers sleep attacks and heart attacks.
Anyone who notices the pathological change in the arteries at an early stage can prevent life-threatening courses.
Sleep attacks and heart attacks are among the heart diseases that are responsible for most deaths in Germany.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, over 250,000 people died in 2019 alone as a result of heart attacks, strokes, atrial fibrillation or cerebral infarction.
As a consequence of arteriosclerosis, diseases such as coronary artery disease, vascular deposits in the carotid arteries or the arteries supplying the brain and peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), also known as intermittent claudication, are considered.
A change in lifestyle has an enormous impact on the health of the blood vessels and prevents hardening of the arteries *.
Atherosclerosis usually goes unnoticed for a long time.
If you notice the following symptoms, you should go straight to the doctor.
Bad blood lipids, little exercise, smoking and high blood pressure are among the risk factors that promote atherosclerosis.
These are diseased arteries that narrow due to deposits in the form of calcium, fat, or connective tissue.
As a result of these so-called plaques, the blood can no longer flow unhindered, causing circulatory disorders.
In the worst case, the plaques dissolve, migrate into the brain or heart as a thrombus and trigger a stroke or heart attack there.
According to the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), an arterial embolism in the brain, in the legs or in other organs can occur, depending on the location of the narrowed vessel.
As a rule, arteriosclerosis is a slowly progressing disease that does not cause any symptoms for a long time.
You should therefore act particularly quickly if the following symptoms occur.
Symptoms of arteriosclerosis: These signs suggest hardening of the arteries
According to the internists on the Internet, vascular changes can be detected at an early stage thanks to a large number of modern examination methods: calcification of the arteries can be detected using ultrasound, for example.
It is best to get all of the government-recommended
screening
exams to detect atherosclerosis as early as possible.
These symptoms can be signs of hardening of the arteries:
In the case of hardening of the arteries in the legs and pelvis, doctors speak of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), also known as intermittent claudication.
Symptoms when walking are typical
.
The muscles hurt because they lack oxygen due to the poor blood supply.
The resulting and persistent pain forces the patient to stand still, whereupon the pain subsides, after a short period of rest the movement can then be continued until the next forced break, as the portal for internists informs on the net.
In the advanced stage there is also pain when the person is lying down.
If atherosclerosis narrows the coronary arteries, the heart muscles are no longer supplied with sufficient blood and therefore no longer adequately supplied with oxygen.
Doctors speak of coronary heart disease here.
A tightness in the chest and a so-called annihilation pain in the chest
(angina pectoris)
are typical
.
At an advanced stage, coronary artery disease leads to the death of myocardial tissue, which leads to a heart attack.
This can be announced by pain radiating into the left arm, pain in the back and between the shoulder blades and / or pain in the jaw.
Sometimes a heart attack goes hand in hand with no symptoms.
If atherosclerosis (for example in the carotid artery) leads to a circulatory disorder in the brain, this can manifest itself as dizziness, confusion and memory problems.
If a larger artery becomes sealed due to plaque deposits, a stroke occurs
, which is characterized by speech disorders or paralysis of one half of the body.
(jg) * Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen digital editorial network
.
Read more
: Those who are born this month have a higher risk of heart attack.
One affected person tells: Life with a weak heart
One affected person tells: Life with a weak heart
List of rubric lists: © Noah Wedel / IMAGO