Vascular illness is a group of health concerns, affecting the blood vessels. These diseases include buildups in the blood vessel walls, blood clots, varicose veins, and more. Unfortunately, most Aventura vascular problems worsen with time. If these conditions affect blood flow, they can result in life-threatening complications like a stroke, heart disease, heart attack, and more. Luckily, early detection can reduce your risk, so it is important to understand what issues you should watch out for. Here are some of the common vascular problems you should know about.
1. Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is the hardening of the arteries. This condition can result in numerous other complications and artery diseases like carotid artery disease, aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, and coronary artery disease.
2. Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
Also known as PAD, this illness is defined by the continuous thickening of the artery’s lining resulting from plaque accumulation. This condition can lead to a decline in blood flow to body areas like the legs, neck, kidneys, and stomach. In the past, specialists believed this condition often impacts more men than women, but recent insights show that menopausal women have a similar risk to men.
3. Carotid Artery Disease
Carotid artery disease is the narrowing of the carotid arteries, which are the main arteries in the neck, supplying blood to the brain. This condition generally results from the accumulation of plaque, a mix of fat, cholesterol, and other substances on the inside walls of the carotid arteries. Plaque may accumulate with time, causing the narrowing of the arteries, which may block or reduce blood flow to the brain.
Typical symptoms of carotid artery disease may vary, based on the degree of the narrowing and the level of blood flow affected. Some individuals with this disorder might be asymptomatic, whereas others might experience symptoms like numbness, weakness, or trouble thinking or speaking. Besides, this condition raises your risk factor for stroke, which is a severe and potentially life-threatening condition that happens once the blood supply to the brain gets disrupted.
4. Pulmonary Embolism
Pulmonary embolism is the blockage of one of the major arteries in your lungs, often resulting from deep vein thrombosis. The most prevalent symptom of this condition is sudden chest pain whenever you take a deep breath or drastic shortness of breath.
5. Collagen Vascular Disease
Collagen vascular disease is a set of autoimmune conditions, including lupus, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, and more. These conditions are more prevalent in women than men. While the symptoms of collagen vascular disease vary, typical symptoms include joint pain or body aches, muscle weakness, skin rash, and fatigue.
6. Cerebrovascular Disease
Cerebrovascular disease is a set of disorders or conditions that affect the blood vessels and blood flow to the brain, such as an ischemic stroke, aneurysms, and transient ischemic attack. While symptoms of the cerebrovascular disease vary, common symptoms include weakness, slurred speech, headache, vision loss, confusion, and one-sided body paralysis.
The veins and arteries help transfer blood across the body. Once this function fails because of an underlying health concern, you develop a vascular illness. However, each vascular illness has unique symptoms, risk factors, and care alternatives. Thus, seeing a vein doctor immediately is crucial if you suspect you have a vascular disease for a professional diagnosis and individualized care plan. Left untreated, vascular diseases can place you at risk of strokes, or even limb amputation. Your provider will help you manage any symptoms early and address the underlying cause of your vascular issue.