Arteriosclerosis Symptoms
Arteriosclerosis symptoms and signs generally vary from person to person and depend on the part of your body afflicted by the condition. Some of the common arteriosclerosis symptoms are leg pain, chest pain, brain hemorrhage, and high blood pressure. Other common arteriosclerosis symptoms are ringing in the ears, memory problems, headaches, mood swings, cold feet or legs, muscle pain in your thighs, numbness of the feet or legs, blueness or paleness, and change of leg color. As mentioned earlier arteriosclerosis symptoms and causes vary, and it is best you see your health care provider for an arteriosclerosis symptoms diagnosis. Doctors are able to identify people at high risk because of certain behavioral and physical characteristics.
For instance, men are usually at a greater risk for arteriosclerosis and heart disease, while the risk for women increases after menopause. Some of the characteristics of arteriosclerosis are diabetes, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, stress, and age. Arteriosclerosis symptoms and treatment, as mentioned earlier, vary from person to person. Typical treatment could be anything from some light exercise routine to some kind of drug therapy and in some cases surgery. If arteriosclerosis signs and symptoms are neglected and not treated it could be fatal or lead to a heart attack or stroke. Care has to be taken by diabetic patients as arteriosclerosis rapidly progresses in the case of diabetic patients.
Arteriosclerosis Causes
Arteriosclerosis causes and symptoms are different for different people. However, some of the common causes of arteriosclerosis are high cholesterol levels, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, and hereditary reasons. One of the most common causes for arteriosclerosis is the deposit of platelets, cholesterol, plaque, and other substances on the arterial walls. The build-up in some cases is very slow, but in some cases, there is a sudden build-up and such rapid development of arteriosclerosis could culminate in a heart attack. Some of the arteriosclerosis causes and risk factors are as follows:
- Hereditary factors, for example, if you have a family history of diseases related to the heart.
- Men are more likely to suffer from arteriosclerosis as compared to women. This could be attributed to the fact that women are protected to a certain degree by the hormone estrogen.
- High blood pressure and cigarette smoking are also responsible for arteriosclerosis.
- Your chances of getting arteriosclerosis increase with age.
- An inactive lifestyle, high cholesterol diet and high stress levels lead to the development of arteriosclerosis.
Arteriosclerosis Treatment
Arteriosclerosis treatment varies depending on the amount or level of blockage in the patient’s arteries. In the early stages of arteriosclerosis, treatment is usually in the form of a nutrient mix. You need to consume this mix at least twice a day. In addition to following an arteriosclerosis treatment with vitamins and nutrients, you also need to opt for a lifestyle change. Lifestyle changes would include weight loss in overweight persons, no smoking, cutting down on alcohol consumption, increasing your intake of vegetables and fruits, and reducing the consumption of saturated fats in your diet. For those suffering from arteriosclerosis, adding fresh garlic to your diet can work wonders for you. You could also spice your food with fenugreek, cayenne pepper, and caraway. Arteriosclerosis herbal treatment helps as the high density of lipoproteins in these herbs can help prevent plaque from accumulating in the veins. For arteriosclerosis treatment, herbs such as hawthorn, parsley, fenugreek, psyllium, ginko, and guggul are found to be extremely effective. Another effective arteriosclerosis treatment is spinach juice and carrot juice. An herbal treatment arteriosclerosis plan is good as these herbs contain oils that have high contents of mono saturated fatty acids and essential fatty acids. Some herbs also have bile and liver stimulating properties. Others are cholesterol lowering and blood thinning herbs. Arteriosclerosis Diagnosis
When a person exhibits certain symptoms that are indicative of arteriosclerosis, a diagnosis is needed. Your health care provider will recommend a physical examination and check your heart and lungs with the help of a stethoscope. Arteriosclerosis diagnosis and progression is made with the help of a number of tests such as the following:
- Coronary angiography: This is an excellent test for arteriosclerosis diagnosis. It is administered under local anesthesia and involves injecting a contrast medium into your arteries. This test can tell if your blood vessels are narrowed.
- Echocardiogram: This is another test that gives information about the blood flow into the blood vessels and heart and shows if your heart is pumping well and if the valves are doing a good job.
- Electrocardiogram: This test is used to record the electrical activity of your heart with the help of electrodes.
- Stress echocardiogram: This test is performed to see how your heart functions under any kind of physical stress. During the test, the doctor will place electrodes on certain points on your upper torso and will thus be able to map the electrical signals that are sent out by your heart.
- Stress thallium test: This test effectively demonstrates how well blood flows to the heart muscles when at rest and when under stress.
Arteriosclerosis Diet
An arteriosclerosis diet must be followed as part of your remedial action plan. The patient should start with a juice fast for a week or so. He/she can consume raw fruit and vegetable juices that are in season. As part of your arteriosclerosis diet treatment, pineapple juice, lemon juice, grape juice, and green leafy vegetable juice are extremely beneficial. Cleanse your bowels with the help of enema (warm water). Once you are done with the juice diet, the arteriosclerosis diet recommends that you follow it by eating foods from three food groups. These three groups are grains, nuts, and seeds. Make sure you add plenty of sprouted seeds to your arteriosclerosis diet. Flaxseed oil, olive oil and cold pressed oils made from vegetables are also very good for a person who has arteriosclerosis. Check with your doctor about the arteriosclerosis dietary supplements you can take.
Here are a few tips you can keep in mind in addition to following an arteriosclerosis diet.
- Consume five small meals at regular intervals instead of three large meals in a day.
- Try and eliminate saturated fats from your diet.
- Foods that you need to avoid are sauces, pickles, coffee, strong tea, white sugar, condiments, products made using white flour, and fried foods.
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