Atherosclerosis pain during exercise occurs when damaged blood vessels cannot deliver adequate oxygen or nutrients to your muscles. Lower extremities, such as the calves, suffer in particular when narrowed and plaque-filled arteries hinder blood circulation. Also referred to as intermittent claudication, the pain associated with atherosclerosis potentially affects all parts of your body.
Atherosclerosis Causes
Atherosclerosis is a specific type of arteriosclerosis, or hardening and narrowing of the arteries. In atherosclerosis, fatty deposits and plaques adhering to vessel walls cause the blockages. Problems begin with injured blood vessel walls. Chronic high blood pressure, smoking and abnormal blood chemistry common in diabetes are common factors in blood vessel wall damage. Your immune system sends white blood cells to the injury site to repair the damage. The white blood cells that mass at the injury site transform, and then trap fat and cholesterol circulating in your bloodstream.
Atherosclerosis Effects
The fat and cholesterol accumulated at the injury site harden, forming plaque adhesions on your artery walls. These patches narrow blood vessel openings and pit their formerly smooth walls with rough spots that inhibit blood flow. The rough patches sometimes break off, forming potentially deadly blockages of blood flow to the heart or brain. Even if plaque stays put, it narrows blood vessel channels and prevents unimpeded blood flow to your body. Your muscles suffer from insufficient blood supply when you move or exercise. Typically, calf muscles cramp and spasm when you exert yourself. You experience angina or chest pain when your coronary arteries cannot deliver adequate blood flow to your heart, another symptom of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
Prevention
You can lessen many of the risk factors that lead to atherosclerosis pain during exercise, according to the Merck Manual. Do not smoke. Monitor and regulate your blood pressure either by losing weight and eating a healthy low sodium diet, or taking blood pressure medications, if necessary. Losing weight also helps prevent type 2 diabetes and other health problems. Regular exercise helps reduce "bad" cholesterol in your blood stream, lowers blood pressure and stress levels, which are all factors in blood vessel disease.
Treatment
Treatment for atherosclerosis-related pain during exercise depends on the severity of other cardiovascular symptoms you might have. Health-care experts generally recommend exercise to improve muscle tone and improve circulation, but always check with your physician first about continuing with exercise when you experience symptoms of atherosclerosis. When you do exercise and feel pain in your legs, stop until the pain subsides and then slowly resume exercise. Swimming improves your lower-extremity blood circulation particularly well because of the hydrostatic pressure of water that gently squeezes your legs, explains Joanne M. Koury, in "Aquatic Therapy Programming." Your doctor might recommend taking an aspirin every day, or a prescription blood thinner, to help avoid blood clots says Penn State Medical School. Stopping smoking is essential, as is monitoring and lowering high blood pressure. In extreme cases, surgery to prop open blocked vessels using angioplasty, or a small balloon inflated in the arteries, is an option. Do not ignore pain that occurs in your chest, jaw or upper body, as it might indicate serious problems that require immediate medical attention.
