There’s A Strong Connection Between Restless Legs And Cardiac Health
A paper published in 2018 in the journal American Academy of Neurology found that women with restless leg syndrome had a higher cardiovascular disease mortality rate. A similar paper from five years earlier found that men suffering RLS were at higher risk of early death generally, and yet another report from 2008 found that people with RLS are twice as likely to have a stroke or heart disease compared to people without the condition.
“The association of RLS with heart disease and stroke was strongest in those people who had RLS symptoms at least 16 times per month,” study author John W. Winkelman, MD, PhD, with Harvard Medical School, said in a statement. “There was also an increased risk among people who said their RLS symptoms were severe compared to those with less bothersome symptoms.”
This could be because many people with restless leg syndrome also have a movement disorder called periodic limb movements of sleep . Most people are unaware that they are suffering from PLMS as it involves them moving their legs once they’ve finally fallen asleep. However, research has shown that during these periods of movement, a patient’s blood pressure can significantly rise, causing nocturnal hypertension, which over time can significantly contribute to cardiovascular disease.
There Are Serious Risks To Leaving Pad Untreated
If you do experience sores as part of PAD, it’s a serious sign that you need immediate medical care. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “these sores can develop into areas of dead tissue that ultimately require amputation of the foot or leg.”
If that’s not enough cause for concern, living with PAD longterm greatly increases your risk of heart attack. In fact, one study published in the journal BMC Cardiovascular Disorders found that those with peripheral artery disease are six times more likely to suffer a coronary episode or stroke than those who don’t.
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Gray Blue Or Purple Skin
Gray, blue or purple skin is a sign of blood vessel blockage. Any of the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body arteries, capillaries and veins can become blocked and prevent adequate oxygen from reaching the blood. The lack of oxygen results in gray, purple or blue-colored skin, usually in the fingers or toes. Circulatory issues like blockages may be a sign of heart disease. Without treatment, they can cause permanent tissue damage or death.
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Other Symptoms Of Heart Failure To Know
While edema may be the most obvious external heart failure symptom, there are some other common symptoms that you should know about. This is especially true if youre a heart attack survivor or otherwise at high risk for heart failure.
Other heart failure symptoms include:
- shortness of breath, especially when lying down or during exertion
Treating edema usually means treating the underlying cause of the swelling. In the case of heart failure, that could involve the use of medications like:
- diuretics to reduce fluid levels in the body
- medications like ACE inhibitors and ARBs or ARNI to help the blood vessels relax, so circulation is a little easier
- beta blockers and ivabradine to reduce the burden on the heart
- mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists
In very serious cases, implantable pumps or defibrillators are needed to help the heart muscle keep up with the bodys demand for blood. And in the most severe cases of heart failure, a heart transplant may be necessary.
Treating the edema itself may include:
- compression stockings to help increase the pressure in your lower legs, which may help push blood up to the heart
- exercise to get the leg muscles affected by edema working harder and pumping blood back to the heart
- elevating your legs or other swollen part of the body above the heart to help keep blood returning to the central circulation.
If You Feel This Before Falling Asleep Your Heart Disease Risk Is High
It’s easy to write this symptom off, but doctors say it could be a red flag for heart disease.
Whether it’s for a prolonged period of time or just an off night, many of us have experienced insomnia of some kind, when you can’t sleep no matter how hard you try. But for some people, this common condition comes with a physical manifestation known as “restless legs.” It’s easy to write the symptom off as a tiring irritation, but experts are advising that it’s something you should be paying more attentionbecause restless legs may, in fact, be a red flag for heart disease.
“Anyone who has experienced restless legs syndrome knows it’s a strange condition. As soon as you lie down, the urge to move your legs begins. No matter how hard you try, you cannot stop thrashing around or get comfortable,” writes interventional cardiologist Leslie Cho, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic. “Although a connection between this strange syndrome and heart disease sounds unlikely, it exists.”
Read on to find out more about the connection between restless legs and heart disease, and for more indicators your cardiovascular health is at risk, check out If You Can’t Do This in 90 Seconds, Your Heart Is in Danger, Study Says.
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What Causes Heart Failure In A Child
The most common cause of heart failure in children is a heart defect that is present at birth . Other causes include:
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Heart muscle disease or enlargement of the heart muscle . This is often an inherited cause.
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Heart valve disease
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Low red blood cell count
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Medicine side effects, especially from medicines used to treat cancer
Men And Heart Disease
The term heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions, including coronary artery disease and heart attack.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the United States.1
This map shows death rates from heart disease in men in the United States. The darker red indicates a higher death rate.
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What Is The Treatment For Congestive Heart Failure
The treatment of heart failure depends on the exact cause, but it can usually be treated effectively. The overall goals are to correct underlying causes, to relieve symptoms, and to prevent worsening of the condition. Symptoms are relieved by removing excess fluid from the body, improving blood flow, improving heart muscle function, and increasing delivery of oxygen to the body tissues. This can be done by the various congestive heart failure treatments listed in this sections.
If the underlying cause of heart failure is not correctable by surgery or catheterization procedures, medical treatment is composed of lifestyle changes and medications.
Heart Failure Edema Treatment Starts By Throwing Away Your Salt Shaker
Sodium is possibly the biggest dietary culprit in causing fluid retention. The first thing anyone with heart failure should do to improve their overall health is throw away their salt shaker.
In general, you should consume less than 2,000 mg of sodium a day if you have heart failure. Because sodium lurks in most pre-packaged foods, you should read food labels carefully to get a real understanding of how much salt youre taking in.
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Yellowish Waxy Bumps Growing Around Your Eyes
Xanthelasmas are yellow waxy plaques caused by an accumulation of lipids or fatty deposits in the skin and are commonly seen on the inner corners of the eyelids.
Half of people with xanthelasma have high cholesterol. Studies have shown that xanthelasma, with or without high cholesterol, are a risk factor for atherosclerotic disease. Atherosclerotic disease is the build up and hardening of cholesterol and fats in the blood vessel walls causing obstruction of blood flow. People who have xanthelasma need to be evaluated for high cholesterol and managed appropriately by their primary care provider.
Xanthelasmas are asymptomatic but are frequently seen in the dermatology office for evaluation and treatment due to cosmetic concerns.
When To Call 911 For Heart Failure
- Chest discomfort or pain that lasts more than 15 minutes
- Severe or persistent shortness of breath
- Fainting or passing out
- A fast or irregular heartbeat, palpitations or a racing heart that does not go away
- A need to sleep sitting up on more pillows than usual
- Frothy or pink tinged sputum when coughing
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Heart Failure And Edema
Edema develops when water gets trapped in your body tissues. This results in swelling, usually in your feet or ankles, but it can also affect your entire body.
As blood flow out of the heart slows, blood returning to the heart through the veins backs up, causing fluid to build up in tissues. The kidneys are less able to get rid of sodium and water in the body, which also causes fluid retention in tissues.
Red Scaly Patches Of Skin
Psoriasis is a chronic immune mediated inflammatory disease that causes red scaly patches on the skin due to rapid skin cell turnover. Psoriasis, like other autoimmune diseases, can cause over activation of the immune system leading to inflammation in the body.
There are several different types of psoriasis but plaque psoriasis is the most common. Generalized plaque psoriasis typically affects the arms, elbows, knees, trunk and scalp. Symptoms include burning, itching, dry, flaky or scaly red patches of skin.
Individuals with psoriasis are at an elevated risk of developing other serious health conditions including heart disease. According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, people with severe psoriasis are 58% more likely to have a major cardiac event and 43% more likely to have a stroke. It is imperative to manage psoriasis appropriately to help reduce the inflammation in the body. If you have psoriasis make sure to discuss treatment options with your dermatologist and make sure a primary care provider is monitoring your heart health.
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What Is Congestive Heart Failure
CHF, also called heart failure, occurs when the heart muscle has become damaged or has to work too hard because of heart disease and other conditions, such as obesity. Although the heart continues to beat, the damaged heart does not pump enough oxygen-rich blood around the body, resulting in potentially life threatening congestion in the lungs and other tissues of the body.
CHF is a common complication of heart attack and other types of heart disease that damage the heart muscle. These conditions include hypertension, heart valve disorders, arrhythmias, and cardiomyopathy. CHF can also happen due to anemia.
In addition to the categories of left sided heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and left sided heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, heart failure can also be caused by pathologies of the right ventricle.
Yellow Bumps On The Skin
Xanthomas are deposits of fat that build up under the skin. They may appear as small yellow bumps or as flat, wide plaques on your elbows, knees, hands, feet, or buttocks. A type of xanthoma called xanthelasma palpebrarum appears on the eyelids. These yellow, fat deposits can potentially be signs of heart disease because they may indicate high levels of fats in the blood.
“Xanthomas may be a sign of a rare, inherited type of blood disorder in which high levels of triglycerides accumulate in the blood. Xanthomas may also be a sign of increased cholesterol, and they may disappear once cholesterol levels are under control,” says Orringer.
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What Are Possible Complications Of Heart Failure In A Child
Heart failure can cause many complications. These include:
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Poor growth and development
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High blood pressure in the blood vessels between the heart and lungs
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Irregular heartbeats
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Blood clots. If a clot blocks the blood supply to the brain, a stroke may occur.
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Organ damage in the kidney or liver
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Low red blood cell count or low hemoglobin level
Managing Swelling Caused By Heart Failure
Your heart is a magnificent organ. Though it’s only about the size of your fist, it manages to pump blood all the way to your toesat least, it does when it’s healthy.
Unfortunately, the heart can become weakened and gradually fail to pump as well as it should. When this happens, doctors call it heart failure. One of the more noticeable features of heart failure is swelling. This is known as heart failure edema and often involves swollen feet and ankles. It can also cause swelling of your hands. Learn more about what causes this swellingand how to manage it.
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Edema Related To Circulation Heart Or Liver Problems
A variety of diseases can cause edema. Most of the time, the edema is not a serious illness, but it may be a sign for one. Here are some examples:
Venous insufficiency can cause edema in the feet and ankles, because the veins are having trouble transporting enough blood all the way to the feet and back to the heart. This means that it gathers in the legs, and fluid is forced out of the blood vessels into the surrounding tissue. Edema can also be caused by varicose veins.
Congestive heart failure can cause both peripheral edema and abdominal edema . This is because the heart is too weak to pump blood around the body properly, so the blood gathers in front of the heart. Because of this, and due to the increased blood pressure in the veins, fluid seeps out into the surrounding tissue. This may cause swelling in the legs or a build-up of fluid in the abdomen. If the person spends a lot of time lying down, the edema might show up on his or her back . Congestive heart failure can also cause edema in the lungs . This is not common, but the condition is life-threatening. It means the lungs are filling with fluid because the left side of the heart is not strong enough to pump the blood returning from the lungs. The blood gathers in the blood vessels of the lung, and fluid seeps out into the lung tissue. The signs are shortness of breath and rapid, shallow breathing or coughing.
What Are The Stages Of Congestive Heart Failure
Once a diagnosis of heart failure is established, evaluation of heart failure is important. Providing a complete and accurate history of symptoms is essential. Two major groups have established various stages of congestive heart failure.
The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association stages patients according to the progression of their heart failure. The stages are as follows:
- Stage A: High risk for developing heart failure
- Patient has one or more risk factors for developing heart failure.
The New York Heart Association classifies patients based on their physical limitations. Classifications are as follows:
- Class I: No limitations of physical activity, no symptoms with ordinary activities
- Class II: Slight limitation, symptoms with ordinary activities
- Class III: Marked limitation, symptoms with less than ordinary activities
- Class IV: Severe limitation, symptoms of heart failure at rest
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How Does Heart Disease Affect Men
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the United States, killing 382,776 men in 2020thats about 1 in every 4 male deaths.1
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, including African Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Hispanics, and whites. For Asian American or Pacific Islander men, heart disease is second only to cancer.2
- About 1 in 13 white men and 1 in 14 black men have coronary heart disease. About 1 in 17 Hispanic men have coronary heart disease.3
- Half of the men who die suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms.4 Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk for heart disease.
Dark Velvety Skin Patches
You may find these thick spots, called acanthosis nigricans, in skin folds and creases such as your neck, armpits, and groin when your body has trouble using the hormone insulin. The patches could have skin tags, too. If you aren’t being treated for insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, or type 2 diabetes, see your doctor for help controlling your blood sugar and protecting your heart.
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How Do You Get Rid Of Fluid From Congestive Heart Failure
You can use medications called diuretics, which are water pills that help the body get rid of excess fluid.
There are also other medications that help the heart work more efficiently, as well as some with other functions, such as the excretion of glucose in the urine, which can also help get rid of excess fluid.
There Are Many Different Ways Restless Leg Syndrome Manifests
Restless leg syndrome seems to result in symptoms emanating from within the legs rather than on the surface, but those can range from a general restlessness or twitching feeling, to a sensation of burning, pulling, or strong tension, Fogoros says. Usually it hits the knees or the lower part of the legs. Patients tend to report that the pain does not materialize if they’re mentally or emotionally engaged, for example by working on a crossword puzzle or talking with their partner. And for more heath advice sent right to your inbox, .
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