Vascular Disease: What Are The Symptoms And Health Affects

An aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of any blood vessel. It’s most often seen in the aorta, the main blood vessel leaving the heart. You can get an aortic aneurysm in your chest, where it’s called thoracic, or your belly, where it’s called abdominal.

Small aneurysms generally pose no threat. But they do put you at risk for other problems, for example:

• Plaque deposits may build up where the aneurysm is.
• A clot may form there and then break off and get stuck somewhere else, which could be very dangerous.
• The aneurysm might get bigger and press on other organs, which causes pain.

Because the artery wall is stretched and thinner at the spot of an aneurysm, it’s fragile and could burst under stress, like a balloon. The sudden rupture of an aortic aneurysm can be deadly.

When you’re cold or excited, the small arteries of your fingers and sometimes your toes may twitch or cramp. This can temporarily shut down blood supply to the area, making your skin look white or bluish and feel cold or numb.

The working conditions of some jobs bring on Raynaud’s. Or the symptoms might be related to underlying diseases, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis..

This rare disease most often affects the small and medium sized arteries and veins in your arms and legs. They swell up and may get blocked by clots, cutting off blood supply to your fingers, hands, toes, or feet. These body parts will hurt, even when you’re resting. If it’s severe, you might need to amputate fingers or toes that have died.

At this time the cause is unknown, but there is a strong association with tobacco use, including second hand smoke.

Unlike arteries, veins have flaps inside called valves. When your muscles contract, the valves open and blood moves through the tubes. When your muscles relax, the valves close so the blood only flows in one direction.

Damaged valves may not close completely as your muscles relax. This allows blood to flow in both directions, and it can pool.

Varicose veins are an example of this. They may bulge like purple ropes under your skin. They can also look like small red or purple bursts on your knees, calves, or thighs. These spider veins are caused by swollen small blood vessels called capillaries. At the end of the day, your legs might ache, sting, or swell.

More women than men get varicose veins, and they often run in families. Pregnancy, being very overweight, or standing for long times can cause them.

Because the blood is moving more slowly, it may stick to the sides of the veins, and clots can form.

A blood clot in a vein inside a muscle, usually in your lower leg, thigh, or pelvis, is a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). If it breaks loose and travels to your lungs, it becomes a pulmonary embolism (PE). These clots in your veins are called venous thromboembolisms, or VTE.

They’re usually caused by:

• Conditions that slow blood flow or make blood thicker, such as congestive heart failure and certain tumors
• Damaged valves in a vein
• Damaged veins from injury or infection
• Genetic disorders that make your blood more likely to clot
• Hormones, such as estrogen from pregnancy and birth control pills
• Long bed rest or not being able to move much
• Surgery, especially some operations on your hips and legs

Damaged vein valves or a DVT can cause long-term blood pooling and swelling in your legs, too. That’s called chronic venous insufficiency. If you don’t do anything about it, fluid will leak into the tissues in your ankles and feet. It may eventually make your skin break down and wear away.

Some illnesses can make your blood more likely to form clots. You could be born with one, or something may happen to you. These disorders can cause:

• Higher-than-normal levels of clot-forming substances.
• Not enough blood-thinning (anticoagulant) proteins.
• Trouble breaking down fibrin, the protein mesh that holds clots together
• Damage to the endothelium, the lining of the blood vessel

Your lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump like your blood circulation system does. It relies on valves in the vessels and muscle contractions to keep the lymph moving.

When vessels or nodes are missing or don’t work right, fluid can build up and cause swelling, most often in your arms or legs. This is called lymphedema.

Primary lymphedema is rare. It happens when you’re born without certain lymph vessels or when you have a problem with the tubes themselves.

A blockage or interruption of the lymphatic system is called secondary lymphedema. It can happen because of:

• Cancer and cancer treatments, including radiation
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Infection
• Scar tissue formation
• Serious injury
• Surgery