The human body consists of different organs. All of them are very important for human life. However, none of them will be able to function if the flow of blood to it, the delivery of which is carried out through large, medium and small vessels, stops. Their condition depends, first of all, on how a person eats properly, what his regimen is. If in his diet there are fatty, spicy, cholesterol-rich foods, then he will hear the word “atherosclerosis” very early.
Translated, it means "dense gruel." In practice, this is the deposition of cholesterol plaques, which, growing on the walls, constrict the blood vessels. Moreover, for each person they choose a place for their location in different places. One develops atherosclerosis of the cardiac aorta, the other develops renal arteries, and the third develops vessels of the brain. But most often there is atherosclerosis of the vessels of the limbs.
For reasons of occurrence, it is divided into two types:
- change in blood vessels with age;
- degenerative metabolic process, often referred to as obliterating atherosclerosis.
The triggering mechanism for the development of atherosclerosis can occur due to frequent hypothermia and frostbite of the legs, traumatic cases, and diabetes, smoking, and excessive consumption of alcohol can be provocateurs. These factors contribute to a change in the elasticity of the arteries of the limbs. Lipoproteins begin to be deposited on the walls of blood vessels, which later germinate with connective tissue. So begins atherosclerosis of the lower extremities. Under the influence of bad habits, there is a narrowing of the diameter of the cavity of the arteries, which leads to delayed blood supply and hypoxia of the tissues of the fingers, feet and lower leg.
Atherosclerosis of the lower extremities ranks first in the ranking of diseases of the peripheral arteries. It strikes, as a rule, men after 40 years, dooms patients to suffering and sometimes deprives them of working capacity. The earlier the diagnosis is made, the more likely it is to reduce pain symptoms and slow down the process of blockage of blood vessels. If untreated, the disease progresses and can result in gangrene.
For a long time, atherosclerosis of the lower extremities may not show any signs, but from the moment of the first clinical symptoms it often progresses rapidly.
In most cases, atherosclerosis of the lower extremities manifests itself with intermittent claudication. When walking in the calf muscles, pain appears that disappear after a short rest. Lameness, as a rule, becomes stronger when climbing stairs or on a road uphill. Pain sensations arise due to a lack of oxygen in working muscles. Among the first signs are chilliness, sensitivity to cold, a feeling of numbness in the feet.
Progressing, atherosclerosis of the lower extremities changes the color of the skin of the legs, ulcers may appear. Over time, the skin of the fingers and feet become crimsonly bluish, trophic disorders occur, signs of which may be hair loss, brittle nails. Another sign of this disease is the lack of a pulse in the arteries of the thigh, in the popliteal fossa, behind the inner ankle. Pain at rest for two weeks or more, trophic ulcers due to insufficient patency of the arteries are a clear sign of lower limb ischemia.
Treatment of atherosclerosis of the lower extremities
In the early stages of the disease, you can achieve a reduction in the size of cholesterol plaques, if you deal with the disease in a complex way. For this purpose, it is necessary to use diet therapy. In the diet should be foods with polyunsaturated fatty acids, proteins, fiber. It can be sea oily fish, olive, linseed, corn oil, low-fat meats, low-fat cottage cheese, vegetables and fruits. It is better to reduce sugar, sweets, muffins to a minimum or refuse them at all during the course of treatment. Diet therapy should last at least six months.
If the diet does not give the expected results, drug therapy is used. Treatment of atherosclerosis of the lower extremities is carried out for a long time and is mandatory with the control of biochemical blood parameters.