Vascular spasm: causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

More recently, this problem bothered most of the elderly. But today, the vascular spasm has "rejuvenated." Middle-aged people, and even young people, complain about it. What causes it? How to determine a similar condition? What symptoms should alert? How to provide first aid? What are the directions of diagnosis, treatment, prevention? You will receive answers to all these questions in the article.

What is it?

To get started, get acquainted with the concept itself. Vascular spasm (another name - angiospasm) is a pathological narrowing of the gaps of the blood supply vessels, both small and large. Accordingly, this condition disrupts the blood supply to the organ that feeds this vessel, causing oxygen starvation in its cells.

The nutrition of a certain area of ​​tissue or even an entire organ is disrupted. It does not receive oxygen, carbon dioxide is not removed from it. This, in turn, leads to a number of pathological consequences.

Why does this vascular constriction occur? The reason is a rather strong and excessive contraction of the musculature of the vascular walls. That is, an excessive increase in their tone. The mechanism of this phenomenon is associated with a dysfunction of the membranes of smooth muscle cells, including blood vessels.

In turn, the cause of this disorder is a violation of metabolic processes. In particular, the transport of calcium, potassium and sodium ions through these membranes. The result is a violation of normal periods of muscle contraction and relaxation.

Varieties

There are several types of vascular spasms. They are divided by localization, various manifestations.

Spasm of peripheral vessels. Paroxysmal ischemia of the extremities is observed. The following conditions are combined under this category:

• Raynaud's Syndrome. This is a type of peripheral vascular spasm, in which three phases follow one after another: ischemia, cyanosis, hyperemia. In the first stage, a spasm of small vessels occurs, the gaps of the capillaries narrow. The second phase is accompanied by stagnation of blood in venules, capillaries. In the third stage, a rapid, reactive expansion of the vascular walls occurs. Also, the patient notes a decrease in sensitivity.
• Mesh Livedo. It can be observed with slight hypothermia of the body. A characteristic mesh pattern appears on the skin of the lower extremities, especially in the hips.
• Acrocyanosis. This is cyanosis of the skin of the limbs. In particular, fingers, hands. It is associated with exposure to extreme cold. The patient feels numb in the affected areas. In some cases, increased sweating is observed in parallel.
• Chills. It can develop from exposure to both cold and damp, strong winds. Dense swelling of red, cyanotic color appears. They feel itching or burning.

Spasm of the great vessels affects the lower extremities. The legs turn pale, then turn blue. After removing the spasm, redness is visible in the affected areas. Along with this, fatigue of the lower extremities is observed, intermittent claudication caused by pain, cooling of the feet.

Coronary spasm. It affects the vessels of the heart. The patient complains of pressing pains behind the sternum, most often occurring in the supine position either at night or in the early morning. The cardiogram shows characteristic deviations. In this case, the coronary arteries are rarely blocked. And also there are no signs of oxygen starvation of myocardial tissue (heart muscle).

The most dangerous of the above is precisely a spasm of the cerebral vessels supplying the brain. We will talk more about him in more detail. The symptoms here are very different: from headache, tinnitus to loss of consciousness. Often, spasm is associated with the presence of osteochondrosis. Here the patient will complain of a burning pain in the neck, loss of sensation in both hands, uncontrolled fluctuations in the movement of the eyeballs. This is due to compression of the blood vessels supplying the brain with cervical vertebrae.

Causes

Vascular spasm means a sharp decrease in the throughput of a specific part of the circulatory system. The one that directly feeds the human brain.

There are many causes of vasospasm:

• Strong emotional shock, stress, which caused a disruption in the functioning of the system of vital organs.
• Both physical and mental overwork, followed by a malfunction of the brain and the circulatory systems that nourish this organ.
• Deformation of the walls of the vessels themselves. Most often caused by their age-related wear.
• Intoxication, lead poisoning or carbon disulfide.
• Frostbite and subsequent repeated hypothermia of the victim.
• Lack of oxygen in the blood. This forces the body to increase the speed of blood flow by changing the throughput diameter of the vessels.
• Abuse of various stimulant substances. For example, alcohol, nicotine and so on.

Spasm as a symptom

Vascular spasms are most often observed in diseases, pathologies, which are accompanied by a pathological change in the structure of blood vessels, their nervous system. Or in diseases that are fraught with a violation of neurohumoral regulation of vascular wall tone.

Thus, vascular spasm itself can be not only an independent pathology, but also a symptom of a number of serious diseases, such as:

• Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
• Heart failure.
• Vasculitis
• Hypothalamic syndrome.
• Hypertension - high blood pressure.
• Aneurysms.
• Neurosis.
• The pathological course of menopause.
• Diabetes.
• Atherosclerosis.
• The appearance of neoplasms in the tissues of the brain.
• VVD - vegetovascular dystonia.
• Violation of the work of internal organs (in particular, the liver).
• Problems with the endocrine system (in most cases, with the thyroid gland).

This is a list of diseases that can cause vasospasm. But how to define it?

Symptomatology

Symptoms of vascular spasm, regardless of the cause of this condition, are the same. A person suffers from the same manifestations as a result of stress, and because of hypertension, and in the case of a more serious condition.

The main symptoms of vascular spasm are as follows:

• Acute headache.
• Dizziness.
• Flying flies before your eyes.
• Noise in ears. It can be amplified with increasing physical activity.
• Fatigue, which may occur on its own, is not related to physical or mental stress.
• Chronic feeling of tiredness.

Acute spasm

It is also important to know the symptoms of acute vascular spasm, which is a more dangerous pathological condition. In addition to the above, the patient complains of the following:

• Loss of coordination of movements.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Blurred consciousness, memory lapses.
• Loss of speech skills.
• The patient may lose orientation in space.

In this case, it is no longer the loss of consciousness or orientation in space that is dangerous, but the consequences of this condition. Vascular spasm can flow into an ischemic stroke if the patient is not provided with full assistance on time. Therefore, everyone needs to know how to relieve vascular spasm in order to help both themselves and others.

Vasculitis

Many people are interested in vasculitis: what kind of disease, symptoms that are characteristic of it.

In general, vasculitis is a whole complex of diseases that affect several organs at once. The pathology is based on inflammation of the walls of blood vessels. It is not surprising that in this situation, vascular spasms are not uncommon.

There are primary vasculitis, which are independent diseases. They are referred to the competence of rheumatologists. There are secondary ones, which in themselves are the result of other diseases - sepsis (blood poisoning), infections (meningitis, typhus, scarlet fever), skin diseases (psoriasis), and malignant tumors.

The causes of the disease are mainly as follows:

• Hereditary predisposition.
• Acute, chronic bacterial or viral infections.
• Individual body response to vaccine injection.
• Severe overheating or hypothermia.
• Poisoning with chemical or biological poisons.
• Sunburn and other thermal skin lesions.
• Injuries of various localization and origin.

Vasculitis - what is this disease? Symptoms of this pathological condition are as follows:

• Swelling in the temporal zones.
• General muscle weakness.
• Lack of appetite.
• Persistent muscle pain.
• Fever.
• Violation of the sensitivity of the skin.
• Skin rashes.

Risk groups

We also designate risk categories - groups of citizens who most often suffer from spasms:

• People who abuse alcohol, tobacco smoking.
• Patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyscirculatory encephaly or angina pectoris.
• People with a hereditary predisposition. In particular, whose close relatives suffered a heart attack or stroke.
• Suffering from insomnia, sudden jumps in blood pressure.
• People who prefer strong coffee or tea.

First aid

If you notice the symptoms mentioned above in yourself or your loved ones, treatment should be started without delay. Consult first aid for this condition:

1. Wash your face, moisten your feet with necessarily cold water.
2. Drink blood thinning aspirin.
3. Take drugs that relieve vascular spasm - Spazgan, Nurofen. They are also painkillers - they will help get rid of a painful headache. Effective with vasospasm "Noshpa".
4. Take a sedative. For example, tincture of valerian - 15-20 drops.
5. Be sure to take a horizontal position - you can lie both on the sofa, bed, and on the floor.
6. Lightly massage the whiskey with light circular motions. Move smoothly to the back of the head.
7. Take medications that promote oxygen saturation in your bloodstream.

If all these steps do not help relieve symptoms, you must call an emergency medical service. In the same case, when the spasm receded, do not forget about it. It was only a first aid that eliminated the symptoms. Only a doctor is able to determine the causes of spasm. Therefore, you can not hesitate to visit a doctor.

Diagnostics

Treatment of vascular spasm is prescribed after a comprehensive diagnostic examination of the patient. It is aimed at identifying the causes of this pathological condition:

• X-ray
• Magnetic resonance examination of the cervical vertebrae.
• Tomography of blood vessels supplying blood to the brain.
• Angiography. How is angiography done? This is an introduction through a microscopic puncture of a contrast medium into a vessel and further tracking of its progress using modern medical devices.
• Duplex blood flow scan.

Therapy

Further treatment, respectively, depends on the results of the diagnosis. Therapy is prescribed for those diseases that provoked a spasm. In most cases, this is a conservative treatment - taking medications prescribed by a doctor.

If the cause of the spasm is not a disease, not a pathology, then the patient will be prescribed a sparing regime with a reasonable distribution of sleep and wakefulness, a decrease in both physical and intellectual stress. A special power scheme can be assigned.

Prevention

So that such a dangerous condition as vascular spasm does not bother you again, you need to take serious prevention of the problem:

• Slowly increase physical activity on your body. Start with long walks in the fresh air. Then replace them with cycling in the park, jogging or swimming. These exercises help to strengthen the walls of blood vessels.
• Physical activity should be constant, systematic, but not burdensome. To achieve the results of professional athletes is even dangerous here.
• Completely refuse both alcoholic and highly carbonated drinks. If you smoke, you should definitely quit this habit. If there are reservations regarding alcohol, then tobacco should be abandoned categorically.
• Take care of proper nutrition. Remove foods containing refined fats from your diet. Significantly limit yourself to eating foods rich in animal fats.
• Consider eating cereals, seafood, low-fat fish and sea dishes, as well as dairy and sour-milk products with a low percentage of fat, legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Pay attention to the fact that a survivor of vascular spasm is prescribed and a plentiful drink - at least 2.5 liters per day. It can be purified water, fresh natural fruit drinks and juices.
• An integral part of prevention is a full healthy sleep for at least 8 hours a day. It is advisable to purchase an orthopedic mattress, on which both the skeleton and muscles relax.

Vascular spasm is a condition that cannot be ignored. Important is the timely provision of first aid, as well as subsequent treatment and a set of preventive measures.