Symptoms of Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis symptoms depend on what vessels are affected by the disease:

• When coronary atherosclerosis is diagnosed, the symptoms are determined by coronary insufficiency and the coronary heart disease progression:
  • Angina (chest pain);
  • Shortness of breath;
  • Heart rhythm disturbance (arrhythmia);
  • Swelling of the lower limbs.
• When cerebral atherosclerosis is diagnosed, the symptoms are:
  • One of the first signs is memory impairment (particularly connected with the recent events);
  • Emotional instability, buzzing in the ears, feeling of pulsation, headache, hearing and vision impairment, dizziness;
  • Cerebral atherosclerosis is also manifested in the impairment of mental capacity, loss of intelligence, retarded thinking, and personality change.
• When lower extremity atherosclerosis is diagnosed, the symptoms are:
  • The first sign is the pain in the calf muscles appearing during walking (intermittent claudication);
  • Feeling of cold and chilliness in legs, numbness of feet;
  • Spasms, pale legs, toes become bluish.
• When atherosclerosis of aorta is detected, then the symptoms include:
  • Pressing or burning sternal pain may appear, it spreads into both arms, neck, back and the upper abdomen. But by contrast with angina these pains may last for a long time growing stronger or weaker. Note: Quite often severe forms of atherosclerosis of aorta may progress without any signs; therefore, it can be detected only during examination;
• When mesenteric artery atherosclerosis is diagnosed, then the following signs may be experienced:
  • Severe abdominal pain, usually it appears after eating and lasts for 2-3 hours;
  • Bloating, belching;
  • Irregular bowel movements, constipation alternates with diarrhea;
  • Skin becomes slack, nails – fragile, hair – dull.
• When renal artery atherosclerosis is diagnosed, a severe arterial hypertension appears.

 
Next chapter: Tests and Diagnosis of Atherosclerosis