6 Silent Symptoms of Vascular Disease You Shouldn’t Ignore

Veins carry blood to your heart and lungs, and arteries carry blood to the cells throughout your body. This system, known as the vascular system, is susceptible to conditions and diseases that affect the vessels and blood flow through them. 

At Heart & Vascular Institute, with six Michigan locations, our providers diagnose and treat problems affecting the heart and blood vessels, helping keep each patient’s cardiovascular system as healthy as possible. 

Most of our patients understand heart disease better than vascular disease and may miss some subtle signs and symptoms. Here, we discuss a few types of vascular disease and symptoms that can indicate a vascular problem. 

Common vascular diseases

Since your vascular system touches every cell in your body, vascular problems can vary in how they present and the issues they cause.

For example, stroke often results from vascular disease, as do varicose veins — the thick, ropy-looking veins in some people’s legs. Stroke can be fatal, and varicose veins are largely cosmetic. 

Here are other common vascular diseases:

• Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
• Venous thromboembolism (blood clot)
• Atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of many heart attacks
• Aneurysm, when a weakened blood vessel bulges, rips, or tears
• Vasculitis, when your immune system mistakenly attacks your blood vessels
• Lymphedema, a buildup of fluid between your muscles and your skin 
• Carotid artery disease, a blockage in the blood vessels in your neck

These are just a few of the conditions that can affect your blood vessels. As you might imagine, the symptoms you experience depend largely on the type of vascular disease and the part of your body it affects.

Symptoms can vary, but the following six are typical of many vascular diseases and are often overlooked. 

1. Pain 

When your blood can’t deliver oxygen and nutrients to your cells, the result is often pain. For example, if you have PAD, blood struggles to reach your calf muscles when you’re active, resulting in pain when you walk or climb stairs. 

Similarly, if blood can’t flow through the big arteries in your abdomen to your stomach because the walls are weak and bulging, you may experience intense stomach pain. A blood clot often causes cramping and pain in your legs. 

It’s easy to think that pain is due to aging and that you have no choice but to live with it. However, pain is often a sign that something’s wrong. 

2. Swelling 

Depending on the blood vessels affected, swelling can also indicate a vascular issue. 

One example is chronic venous insufficiency, a condition that occurs when the valves that prevent blood from flowing back to your feet between heartbeats are damaged or malfunction. Blood pools around the valves, and your lower legs and feet swell. 

3. Dizziness 

Dizziness is a common symptom of pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in your lungs, and can also indicate carotid artery disease. If you feel lightheaded or dizzy for no clear reason, it’s a good idea to schedule an appointment and rule out the possibility of a vascular disease. 

4. Difficulty healing

Wounds need good blood flow to heal properly. If you have wounds that won’t heal or take a long time to heal, especially those on your feet or lower legs, your blood vessels may be compromised. 

Wounds that heal slowly are also at risk of infection. It’s always a good idea to get checked out when wound healing takes longer than expected. 

5. Varicose veins

If the veins in your legs become visible, look like ropes just under your skin, or otherwise change appearance, you should schedule an appointment. Although varicose veins are mostly a cosmetic problem, they could indicate other vascular issues. 

6. Sudden weakness or numbness

Weakness or numbness can be a symptom of many things. Even sitting in an awkward position for too long can cause it, but several serious vascular diseases can cause you to feel weak or numb, usually on one side of your body. 

Get help

Even if you think the symptoms you’re feeling aren’t serious, consider getting checked out. Vascular diseases aren’t always, or even usually, obvious. Schedule an appointment by phone or online at the Heart & Vascular Institute location near you today to speak with an expert.