Recognizing hardening of the arteries: These symptoms announce a heart attack
Created: 08/05/2022, 09:05
By: Juliane Gutmann
Arteriosclerosis is the trigger for strokes and heart attacks.
Anyone who notices the pathological change in the arteries at an early stage can prevent life-threatening courses.
Stroke and heart attack are among the heart diseases that are responsible for most deaths in Germany.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, more than 250,000 people died in 2019 alone as a result of a heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation or cerebral infarction.
Diseases such as coronary artery disease, vascular deposits in the carotid artery or the arteries supplying the brain and peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAVK), also known as intermittent claudication, are considered to be a consequence of arteriosclerosis.
Lifestyle changes have a huge impact on vascular health and prevent hardening of the arteries.
Arteriosclerosis 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 arteriosclerosis.
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 freely and circulatory disorders occur.
In the worst case, the plaques detach, migrate to the brain or heart as a thrombus and trigger a stroke or heart attack there.
According to the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), depending on the location of the narrowed vessel, an arterial embolism can occur in the brain, in the legs or in other organs.
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 you experience the following symptoms.
Symptoms of arteriosclerosis: These signs indicate hardening of the arteries
According to the internists online, vascular changes can be detected at an early stage thanks to a variety of modern examination methods: hardening of the arteries can be detected using ultrasound, for example.
It is best to take all government-recommended
screening
tests to detect atherosclerosis as early as possible.
An affected person tells: Life with a weak heart
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These symptoms can be a sign of hardening of the arteries:
In the case of hardening of the arteries in the legs and pelvis, physicians speak of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), also known as intermittent claudication.
Discomfort when walking is typical
.
The muscles hurt because they lack oxygen due to the insufficient blood supply.
The resulting and persistent pain forces the patient to stop, whereupon the pain subsides, after a short rest phase the movement can then be continued until the next forced break, as the portal internists informs on the Internet.
In the advanced stage, there is also pain when the affected person lies down.
When arteriosclerosis narrows the coronary arteries, the heart muscles no longer receive sufficient blood flow and are therefore no longer supplied with sufficient oxygen.
Doctors speak of coronary heart disease.
A feeling of tightness in the chest and a so-called extermination pain in the chest
(angina pectoris) are typical.
In the advanced stages, coronary artery disease leads to the death of heart muscle tissue, which results in 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.
However, sometimes a heart attack occurs without any symptoms.
If arteriosclerosis (e.g. in the carotid artery) leads to a circulatory disorder in the brain, this can become noticeable through dizziness, confusion and memory problems.
If a larger artery becomes blocked due to plaque buildup, a stroke occurs
, which is characterized by speech disorders or paralysis of one side of the body.
