Body of Evidence
Hardening of the arteries can trigger numerous—and surprising—health problems. Here's how.
The following article is reprinted with permission from Your Health Now magazine, a new health magazine from Merck & Co., Inc., enhanced by information and insights from The Merck Manuals. To learn more about high blood pressure and other health topics, visit www.YourHealthNow.com.
Atherosclerosis has 15 letters and as a medical condition can cause almost as many complications. This tongue twister is the medical term for fatty plaque buildup along the inner walls of an artery, which can narrow the vessel and impede the flow of blood through it. For most of us—veteran ER watchers that we are—the term immediately brings to mind “heart disease.” But while atherosclerosis can affect the blood vessels that lead to the heart and precipitate a heart attack, it also can narrow any large- or medium-size artery in the body. This can lead to a host of health problems that don't often show up on television shows. All of these complications are more likely when certain risk factors are in place—such as family history of heart attacks or artery problems in the legs, diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
1.A Dutch study recently published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that elderly people with atherosclerosis were more likely to be depressed than those without atherosclerosis.
2. Blockage in an artery that supplies blood to the brain can mean that insufficient oxygen reaches the tissues there. The result can be a stroke and loss of neurologic function in those areas of the brain deprived of oxygen.
3. Shortness of breath may be an indication of a serious problem. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, when shortness of breath occurs, the likelihood of death from cardiovascular causes or any cause may increase.
4. Angina (chest pain, pressure or discomfort) often results from coronary artery disease afflicting one or more of the arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood and oxygen.
5. Narrowing of the arteries that lead to the intestines can cause symptoms such as belly pain after meals or weight loss.
6. When a renal artery, which supplies your kidney, becomes narrowed or blocked, you can develop renal artery stenosis—one of the most common identifiable causes of high blood pressure. If both renal arteries are blocked, chronic kidney failure can result.
7. Blocked arteries in the pelvis can produce symptoms anywhere and everywhere in the legs and feet.
8. Erectile dysfunction has many causes, both physical and psychological. But vascular disorders—including atherosclerosis—are the major cause. Some new research suggests that erectile dysfunction may be an early warning sign for coronary artery disease.
9. Narrowed or blocked arteries can occur in the legs, producing leg aches, fatigue, and sometimes burning pain brought on by exercise and relieved by rest.
10. Numbness in the feet and toes during walking can be due to peripheral atherosclerosis, or blocked arteries in the legs.
11. Severe loss of blood flow to the legs causes gangrene—beginning in the toes and moving up, leading to the need for amputations.
“Narrowing of the arteries can be a full-body problem, with effects from head to toe.”