Angiospasm of cerebral vessels, symptoms and treatment. Angiospasm of cerebral vessels: symptoms and treatment methods. Instrumental diagnostic methods

Spasms blood vessels– a dangerous phenomenon that poses a threat to human health. The cause of the disease is excessive contractile movements of the walls of blood vessels. It lasts for the brain and lower extremities for 20-25 minutes, despite the short duration of the process, it can cause the development of severe pathologies.

Causes

Vascular spasm of the circulatory system of an electromechanical nature is caused by a disruption in the process of transporting macroelements such as magnesium, potassium and sodium through the circulatory system. Their insufficient quantity provokes voluntary contraction of the walls of blood vessels, leading the vessels to increased tone.

The disease is local in nature, spasms are observed at the site of inflammation, the presence of a blood clot, or an aneurysm. Does not apply to the entire length of the vessel. Despite this, the mechanism of disorder of the smooth muscles of the vessel leads to disruption of the functioning of all internal organs. , which occurs in one of its areas, prevents the normal passage of blood, which means that during the entire duration of the spasm, the cells do not receive the required amount of oxygen and nutrients.

Physiological

Depending on the reason that led to the contraction of the walls, vasospasm can be pathological and physiological. Physiological spasm of a blood vessel is a normal process that protects the body from bleeding. Timely narrowing of the walls of a vein or artery prevents large blood loss. A spasm also occurs during hypothermia to reduce heat loss. During a strong experience or stressful situation, timely contraction of the wall of a blood vessel leads to and activates the rapid production of adrenaline.

Pathological

Pathological vasospasm occurs due to exposure to an irritating factor. When a person freezes, his skin turns white, his body temperature drops, his lips turn blue, and vascular spasm is a physiological phenomenon. With a pathological manifestation, this picture is observed regardless of the air temperature, at any time.

Angiospasm is the first sign of disruption of the circulatory system. If you do not pay attention to this manifestation, the disease will progress and can lead to very serious consequences, including disorders of the brain.

Possible complications with vasospasm of blood vessels:

• Severe swelling of the tissues of internal organs. The permeability of blood vessels is impaired, a lack of protein occurs, and blood vessels are formed.
• The walls of small blood vessels - venules - weaken, stretch and lose tone. The result is a violation of the circulatory process, hypoxia of internal organs.
• The heart muscle and brain develop. Tissue necrosis occurs and the functioning of internal organs is disrupted.

Depending on the location of the spasm, the following types of vasospasm are distinguished:

• Spasm of the walls of peripheral vessels - spreads to the small vessels of the system - venoli and capillaries. In most cases, symptoms appear on the hands and fingers.
• Narrowing of the walls of the main part of the circulatory system - veins. A disease of this type leads to hypoxia () of the cells of the internal organs.
• Spasm of the coronary blood vessels.
• Cerebral spasm.

Development clinical picture depends on what internal organ was damaged.

The factors that provoke contraction of the vessel walls have not been fully studied, and they can be completely different for each group of vessels.

The most common causes of vasospasm of blood vessels:

• Frequent smoking is the most common factor. When nicotine smoke and tar enter the body, the bed of blood vessels reflexively contracts. In the future, at the slightest weakening immune system, during colds or infectious diseases, vascular spasm will become pathological.
• Severe poisoning of the body with lead and carbon disulfide products. This factor occurs extremely rarely, as it is associated only with work in hazardous industries, with constant contact with harmful substances.
• . In most cases, people who have increased level cholesterol in the blood, and clogged blood vessels, vasospasm occurs much more often.
• of various nature.
• Disorders of the endocrine central nervous system, neuroses.

Symptoms

Symptoms of vasospasm, which have an external manifestation, are noticeable when small blood vessels - capillaries are damaged. The area of ​​skin under which spasm of the vascular walls occurs becomes white. Spasms of the muscles of the walls of veins and arteries manifest themselves in disruption of their functioning.

General signs of vasospasm:

• The hands turn white due to poor blood circulation. The tips of the fingers are white, not sensitive, cold.
• Development of livedo reticularis - the skin on the thighs or ankles becomes blue, the area around becomes cold and pale. Blue color - associated with temporary paralysis of small blood vessels.
• Swelling of soft tissues.
• With spasm of the main group of vessels, the circulatory system of the lower extremities is affected. They begin to turn white, and their bleeding is observed. At further development disease, the skin acquires a blue tint.
• Impaired functioning of the coronary blood vessels is expressed by pain in the chest area when a person is in a passive state. The pain has the character of short-term attacks.
• Angiospasm of cerebral type -. The further symptomatic picture depends on which area of ​​the brain is affected. There is a change in the structure of the retina of the eye, and hearing is impaired.

Treatment

Self-treatment of vascular spasms using methods traditional medicine, are strictly prohibited. Taking medications that were not prescribed by the attending physician is excluded.

Angiospasm of blood vessels is not an independent disease. It occurs as a result of the development of pathological processes and various diseases in the body. First of all, it is necessary to identify the cause.

In the absence of complications, treatment is carried out conservatively. Taking medications is aimed at treating the underlying cause. The patient is prescribed medical supplies, and restoring the walls of blood vessels. If there is temporary ischemia, it is necessary to get rid of its consequences.

To relieve vascular spasms, antispasmodic drugs are prescribed - papaverine, no-spa. If the disease leads to spasm of the coronary arteries, it is necessary to take nitroglycerin. In especially severe cases, and in the absence of positive dynamics from taking medications, a minimally invasive surgical operation is performed.

In addition to the main treatment, the patient needs to start leading an active lifestyle, which includes moderate physical activity. The diet is being revised. Avoid taking products with high level cholesterol.

A transient, extremely strong narrowing of the lumen of intracranial vessels, caused by prolonged contraction of the muscular part of their membrane, is called by specialists vasospasm.

As a rule, arterioles or capillaries are compressed. Against this background, a negative state is formed in the tissues of the spasmodic vessel, threatening such complications as.

Cerebral vasospasm is most often detected in people of working age - after 35-38 years, as well as in pensioners. In pediatric practice, it accounts for a small percentage of cases and is mainly due to various congenital anomalies.

How the destructive process is formed

As a result of deviations in the transport of electrolytes in the intracerebral vessels, a change in the alternation of time allocated to the phases of contraction of the muscular membrane with the phase of its relaxation is formed. The result is a significant increase in the duration and force of compression of the arterioles -.

Local blood flow in the brain structures either slows down significantly and the tissues do not receive enough nutrients and oxygen, or stops altogether - if the lumen of the vessel is completely blocked, for example, in response to.

In such a situation, it is not recommended to delay consultations with specialized specialists and prescribing treatment measures.

Main causes and predisposing factors

Angiospasm of cerebral vessels can be provoked by the simplest everyday situations, for example, intellectual or psycho-emotional overload, lack of sleep, as well as somatic pathologies that a person has.

However, vascular spasms can also cause more serious reasons:

Spasm of blood vessels in the head can also be caused by the following factors:

• excessive passion for strong drinks, for example, coffee;
• abuse of tobacco and alcohol products;
• chronic stressful situations;
• daily lack of oxygen - work in a stuffy room;
• negative state of the environment;
• chronic lack of sleep;
• dehydration;
• intellectual overload;
• negative hereditary predisposition.

After a thorough history taking, the specialist will identify predisposing factors and possible reasons formed vasospasm of cerebral vessels. In the future, diagnostic procedures will confirm them.

Features of the clinical picture

The severity of the symptoms of cerebral vasospasm will directly depend on the diameter of the affected vessels, their location and the duration of ischemia itself.

The main sign of pathological narrowing of cerebral vessels is intense headache - starting in one area of ​​the brain, it often spreads to large areas. It can manifest itself in the form of heaviness, a feeling of being squeezed by a hoop in the head.

Additional symptoms that indicate cerebral vasospasm:

In some cases, the above symptoms preceded a vascular accident - or rupture. Patients complained of acute hearing and vision disorders, difficulty with motor and speech activities.

The condition worsened to the point of loss of consciousness, convulsions, and the presence of various and.

Diagnostic methods

To most accurately identify abnormalities in the activity of cerebral vessels, a specialist will carry out diagnostic procedures:

• duplex scanning brachycephalic and intracranial arteries - allows you to comprehensively examine the structure of the vessels, the speed of blood flow in them, as well as the presence of atherosclerotic and thrombotic deposits;
• - the most accurate diagnosis;
• radiography with contrast if MRI is not possible.

The full amount of information obtained after the above diagnostic procedures allows the specialist to make an adequate diagnosis.

Providing quick help to yourself

A full treatment course should only be prescribed by a neurologist. If there is a deterioration in health caused specifically by cerebral vasospasm, the following measures can be taken at home:

• wash with cool distilled water;
• lie down in a darkened room, place an orthopedic pillow under your head;
• drink 25-30 drops of valerian;
• if there are no contraindications, take an analgesic or antispasmodic tablet;
• conduct a self-massage session;
• Drink slowly in small sips of warmed water with a drop of honey.

If you cannot cope with the attack on your own, then it is not recommended to delay consultation with a specialist.

Treatment tactics

With the development of vasospasm of cerebral vessels, complex treatment is necessary, which is aimed at eliminating the symptoms and causes of the disease:

Traditional medicine recipes quite successfully complement the above-mentioned conservative therapy for vasospasm:

• take decoctions daily medicinal herbs, for example, rosehip, St. John's wort, nettle: pour 20 g of raw material into 200 ml of boiling water, stand for at least 2 hours, filter;
• Honey has proven itself to be a true assistant in restoring the elasticity of cerebral vessels: combine 500 ml of honey with carefully crushed 5 medium-sized lemons and the same number of heads of garlic - after standing for 7-8 days, you can take 2 ml;
• pour 60 g of thyme herb into a liter of distilled liquid, boil and stand for 60 minutes, combine with 20 ml of golden mustache juice: drink 100 ml daily.

How to cure vascular diseases of the brain:

Consequences of cerebral vasospasm and its prevention

If you fail to apply in a timely manner medical care, a negative state can cause quite serious consequences:

To avoid the above consequences, experts recommend adhering to the following rules:

• diet correction - avoidance of fatty, heavy, fried foods;
• get rid of existing bad habits;
• avoid chronic stressful situations;
• visit fitness centers and gyms more often;
• eliminate somatic pathologies in a timely manner.

Treatment of cerebral vasospasm, as well as its prevention, is impossible without the desire for a healthy lifestyle - eat right, avoid physical inactivity, get proper rest at night, and adjust your work and rest schedule.

From this article you will learn: why cerebral vasospasm is dangerous, what it indicates, and whether this condition needs to be treated.

Article publication date: December 24, 2016

Article updated date: 05/25/2019

In case of brain injury, a short-term functional disorder of cerebral circulation occurs in the form of sudden attacks of spasm - contraction of the muscular layer of small-caliber intracerebral vessels, which leads to a decrease in their lumen and a decrease in the intensity of blood flow.

Previously, it was believed that such changes did not significantly disrupt the blood supply to brain cells and their structure, causing patients only headaches of varying intensity (from mild to severe). But scientists have proven the cause-and-effect relationship of such a spasm with a temporary (several days) but pronounced disruption of the general condition with complete or partial loss of performance, as well as a connection with a brain stroke.

A neurologist is involved in the diagnosis and treatment of this pathology.

It is possible to be cured. To do this, you need to strictly adhere to recommendations on lifestyle and nutrition, drug therapy and treatment of concomitant diseases.

What is the essence of pathology

The main characteristics of cerebral vasospasm as a pathological condition:

• The lesion extends only to small-caliber arteries located inside the brain tissue - mainly capillaries, arterioles and terminal branches of cerebral arteries. Veins and large arteries spasm less often.
• The changes do not affect the entire brain, but only one or several zones of one or both hemispheres (frontal occipital, temporal, etc.).
• The nature of changes in blood vessels is spasm - a decrease in the internal lumen and total diameter due to a strong contraction of the circular muscle fibers of the vascular wall.
• The time of occurrence and duration of the spasm is sudden in the form of a short-term transient attack (from several minutes to several hours).
• The consequences are a decrease in the speed and intensity of blood flow, a decrease in the amount of blood enriched with oxygen and nutrients, which disrupts the work (function) of nerve cells.

Disease or symptom: how to evaluate vasospasm?

The classic version of cerebral vasospasm does not cause organic changes (destruction, necrosis) of brain tissue, but only slows down its activity. But if such attacks occur constantly, or against the background of another pathology in the brain (inflammation, atherosclerosis), they can provoke irreversible circulatory disorders, including stroke. Because of this feature, spasm is regarded from different angles - as a separate independent disease (primary form) and as a symptom of other diseases (secondary form).

Primary form

In this case, arterial spasm is the primary and only pathology of the brain. It is characterized as a violation of the automatic regulation of intracerebral vascular tone. This means that the body loses the ability to maintain the contractile activity of the arterial wall - it either expands excessively or, on the contrary, contracts (no balance).

Vascular tone is maintained by automatic self-regulating autonomic nervous system and not controlled by consciousness. But external factors can influence this process through the senses (vision, hearing, etc.). Experts call this true version of the disease as a result of a failure of autoregulation a cerebrovascular crisis.

Autoregulation of cerebral vessels

Secondary form

Secondary spasm of cerebral vessels is a consequence of other diseases of the intracranial arterial bed, nervous tissue and many other organs. In this case, the mechanism of impaired arterial tone is associated not so much with a failure of the autonomic system, but with its irritation as a result of the underlying pathology.

In practice, it is difficult to determine whether cerebral vascular spasm is primary or secondary. This pathology must be perceived as potentially dangerous; it cannot be left untreated, especially in patients with obvious signs of damage to the nervous system.

Who is at risk of getting sick - causes and risk factors

Causes

Primary spasm of cerebral vessels (cerebral crisis) is a consequence of three causes and diseases:

1. Hereditary predisposition (50–60% can be traced to close relatives).
2. Vegetative-vascular dystonia (now it is more often called neurocirculatory dystonia).
3. Long-term period after traumatic brain injury (bruise, concussion, intracranial hematoma).

Secondary vasospasm in the brain is caused by a wide variety of reasons - it is a consequence of the following pathology:

Risk factors

Separately from the causes of spasm of cerebral vessels, provoking and risk factors are distinguished, since they must be taken into account when selecting treatment:

• young and mature age (more than 87% of patients aged 30 to 45 years);
• male gender (more than 75% of patients are men);
• strong emotions and experiences (both positive and negative);
• stressful situations;
• weather changes, changes in meteorological climate conditions;
• intense mental activity, brain and eye fatigue;
• interrupted sleep, constant lack of sleep (for example, when working on the night shift or other circumstances);
• abuse of smoking, alcohol, strong coffee, tea, energy drinks;
• contact of the scalp with cold air;
• medications (tablets, injections) in case of overdose or individual intolerance;
• acute or chronic poisoning with chemicals, salts of heavy metals and other toxic substances (more often this happens in the presence of corresponding occupational hazards at work);
• dehydration (constant diarrhea, frequent vomiting, insufficient fluid intake, excessive sweating).

What symptoms might there be?

Spasm of cerebral vessels can occur in four ways:

1. purely cerebral variant - symptoms of spasm of only cerebral vessels (60% of cases).
2. coronary-cerebral - a combination of cerebral and symptoms of spasm of the cardiac arteries (a common type of disorder - 25%);
3. hepatocerebral and pancreatocerebral - simultaneous symptoms of hepatic or pancreatic colic with cerebral colic.
4. renocerebral type – renal colic and cerebral vasospasm.

Spasm of cerebral vessels is a sudden attack against the background of complete well-being, disrupting the general condition to varying degrees. The table shows the symptoms of cerebral vasospasm depending on the severity:

Degree of damage	Features, possible symptoms and manifestations
The first is angiodystonic	Headache (usually in the occipital or temporal regions)
	General weakness and dizziness
	Numbness of the limbs and face
	Brief disorientation, loss of consciousness, fainting
	Feeling of a hot rush of blood to the face
	Influx of thoughts, inability to control them
	Fog before my eyes
	Paleness and coldness of hands and feet
	Insomnia after an attack
	Vomiting without nausea
The second is angiodystrophic	The symptoms are the same, but do not go away immediately after the attack. In the short term, focal symptoms are also possible: visual impairment; slurred speech; limb weakness; movement coordination disorders.
The third is cerebral-necrotic	The general symptoms are the same, but last from 5-6 to 15-20 hours after the attack, after which they disappear. Additionally possible: puffiness of the face; swelling of the eyelids; lack of speech; signs of severe weakness in the arms and legs.

Symptoms of the first degree of cerebral vasospasm

The first stage has quite typical symptoms to make a diagnosis, especially when compared with possible causative factors. The second and third must be differentiated from transient ischemic attack and stroke, although in general the drugs for the treatment of all these diseases are practically the same.

Is it possible to accurately diagnose a spasm?

The diagnosis of spasm of the cerebral arteries is difficult for instrumental diagnosis. After all, in essence, you need to catch the narrowing of small vessels at the time of an attack. Therefore, it is possible to assume the presence of a spasm only by excluding other, more severe pathological changes. If they are not present, then the neurological symptoms that have arisen are functional in nature.

The following diagnostic methods are used:

• Ultrasound of the vessels of the head and neck - duplex mapping technique;
• CT and MRI (computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging) with intravenous contrast enhancement;
• cerebral angiography.

Methods for diagnosing cerebral vasospasm

The last two methods are so informative that in 50–60% they can detect signs of even mild vasospasm if the study is carried out at the time of the attack.

How realistic is it to cure the disease, and what is needed for this?

Complex treatment is represented by conservative measures: medications, lifestyle and nutrition correction, sanatorium-resort treatment. Actions can be aimed at eliminating the attack, preventing it, and restoring brain function. Be sure to seek specialized help from a neurologist. The disease is curable, but it is not always possible to completely get rid of it.

What to do during an attack

If a person has symptoms reminiscent of cerebral vasospasm, basic treatment can help:

1. wash your face cold water;
2. take a foot bath with cold water (about 10 minutes);
3. provide free access of air to the lungs;
4. ensure rest and horizontal position;
5. drink warm tea;
6. Gently massage your temples, neck, collar area;
7. take medications - these could be:

• Analgin or other painkillers (Ketanov, Tempalgin);
• Antispasmodics (Papazol, No-shpa, Spazmalgon, Andipal);
• Aspirin and its analogues (tablets Cardiomagnyl, Lospirin);
• Validol in combination with a Nitroglycerin tablet under the tongue;
• Preparations Corvalol, Barboval, Valerian in the form of drops.

Restoring blood circulation in the brain

Treatment of impaired cerebral circulation due to vascular spasm involves taking (tablets) or administering (injections) drugs:

• Eufillin, Magnesium sulfate, Dibazol - emergency drugs;
• Piracetam or Thiocetam;
• Cavinton;
• Cerebrolysin;
• Actovegin;
• Ceraxon.

How to prevent another attack - change your lifestyle

The more often the attacks of vascular spasm in the brain are repeated, the greater the need for lifestyle correction, even if you are taking medications for treatment:

• exclude contact with possible provoking factors (they are listed in the section “Who is at risk of getting sick - causes and risk factors.”
• ensure healthy sleep (at least 8 hours);
• do not overstrain your brain;
• do any physical exercise;
• give up bad habits;
• spend more time on fresh air;
• change your diet - eliminate coffee, rough and irritating foods, go to dietary dishes from poultry, vegetables and fruits.

Lifestyle recommendations for frequent attacks of vascular spasms in the brain

Prognosis for the disease

During treatment, in 75–80% of cases, mild cerebral vascular spasms are significantly reduced and do not cause severe circulatory disorders. In the remaining 20–25% of patients, they either go away altogether or are resistant to therapy. They lead to severe cerebrovascular accidents no more often than in 5% of cases.

Despite these relatively favorable prognostic data, do not leave the problem unnoticed!

Angiospasm is the most common disease caused by stress, smoking, and non-compliance with the rules healthy image life. Vasospasm (angiospasm) is not a hereditary disease and can occur in people of different ages, because absolutely everyone is subject to stress.

With vasospasm, as a result of narrowing, the tone of the blood vessels of the circulatory system increases. Blood stagnates in certain areas of tissue, while other tissues and organs experience a lack of blood supply. Vasospasm can lead to heart attack or sudden death.

Types of vascular spasms are distinguished according to their localization. The following types of vascular spasms are distinguished:

• Spasms of peripheral vessels, which include: acrocyanosis, mesh bruise, chills, vasospasm of the upper extremities.
• Spasms of the great arteries, coronary vessels and cerebral vasospasm are more serious because they affect the entire cardiovascular system, including the brain and heart.

Vascular spasms can have a wide variety of symptoms. Thus, such as bleeding of the blood vessels of the hands, their numbness and loss of sensitivity, are pronounced symptoms.

Blueness or numbness of the fingers of the upper and lower extremities, especially in the cold, increased sweating and chills may indicate acrocyanosis. With such a spasm, blue spots may also appear on the skin of the face, hands, feet, especially in cold weather. A burning sensation often occurs on bluish areas of the skin. In this case, touching the affected area of ​​​​the skin will be painful.

If the lower extremities become white due to congestion in them, the patient is most likely experiencing a spasm of the great vessels. After the legs become completely white, they immediately begin to turn blue - this is due to the lack of oxygen in the tissues.

The danger of a spasm is that it is quite difficult to recognize. After some time, the blood quickly returns to the blue limb, and a person usually does not attach importance to such a phenomenon.

In the presence of coronary spasm in the heart muscle, the lumen between the walls of the coronary arteries changes sharply. In this case, the patient experiences - usually sharp, paroxysmal, appears mainly at night and morning time and also in a calm state.

A mesh bruise occurs mainly in young girls. This disease is manifested by the presence of a vascular network in the lower extremities. The vascular network usually has a blue tint, and the skin surrounding the affected area, on the contrary, becomes pale. In this case, the patient does not experience any pain.

The main causes of vascular spasms:

• climacteric syndrome in women,
• neuroses;
• as well as stress.

Symptoms of vascular spasms can often be ignored by patients, since the spasm itself usually lasts no more than 20 minutes.

The causes of vascular spasms are not yet fully understood, but according to research, people with bad habits are more at risk of vascular spasms.

If the diagnosis is untimely and the symptoms are ignored, vascular spasm can lead to the development of stroke, atherosclerosis and other serious diseases.

Vascular spasm prevents the penetration of nutrients into the cells and tissues of organs, therefore all basic preventive and therapeutic measures are aimed at eliminating the spasm itself. Prevention of vascular spasm also involves the patient performing regular jogging in the fresh air, which helps warm up the blood and disperse it throughout the circulatory system.

Of course, since the main risk of spasm is associated with alcohol abuse, excessive smoking and poor diet, you should give up all bad habits. Physical therapy is another way to protect yourself from vasospasm.

If the disease still does not bypass a person, he needs to conduct a full examination of his body, including.

Treatment

As a rule, in the treatment of vascular spasms, electric shock is applied to the affected area. The procedure is carried out daily for 14 days. However, the disease may not recede in this case, and necrosis and may appear on the skin. Then the patient is prescribed additional treatment for the affected skin areas.

Treatment of vascular spasms takes a long period, often more than one year. Sometimes drug therapy for spasms does not produce results, and the patient is indicated for surgery. During sympathectomy, nerve fibers are clamped with a special medical clip. In some cases, it is even necessary to resort to fiber removal. Among medications, antispasmodics are mainly used.

Everyone, at least once in their life, has felt a slight spasm of blood vessels, after which the blood flow sharply returns to the tissue, causing a tingling sensation there.

How to remove

To quickly relieve vascular spasm and get rid of unpleasant tingling at home, you can use several methods:

If a spasm occurs in the upper and lower extremities, simply rub the area of ​​skin vigorously and the blood flow will return to normal. A good remedy There is also a warm saline solution in which you need to immerse your numb arm or leg.

In case of spasm of heart vessels, you need to drink hot tea with the addition of ginger, lemon balm, tincture of hawthorn fruit or mint. Herbal tea is good for relieving coronary spasms.

Thus, vasospasm is a completely unexplored, but extremely dangerous disease. Since the symptoms of spasm are not always pronounced, prevention of vascular spasms plays a huge role in preventing the onset of the disease: proper nutrition, giving up bad habits, playing sports.

The most common and most dangerous diseases are heart and vascular diseases. Some of them are congenital or hereditary. But a person acquires most of it as a result of stress or wrong image life. Often the cause of acute heart attack(and sometimes sudden death) becomes a vasospasm.

Doctors call it vasospasm. This is a temporary increase in the tone of blood vessels, both large (arteries) and small (capillaries), narrowed by atherosclerotic plaques. In this case, blood accumulates in some areas, while others do not receive it. As a result, the supply of oxygen to tissues and the removal of carbon dioxide from them is disrupted. As a result of frequent manifestations of vasospasms, the occurrence of a serious disease - vascular dystonia (acute vascular crisis). In some cases, the blood supply to some areas of the myocardium decreases to a critical level, which becomes the cause of a life-threatening arrhythmia or even a heart attack.

Types of vascular spasms

Depending on the location, there are several types of vascular spasm.

Peripheral spasms

Spasm of peripheral vessels usually occurs when and is also called vasospasm. It includes several varieties:

1. Vascular spasm of the upper extremities (hands);
2. Reticular bruise or livedo reticularis: a condition most common among young women and girls;
3. Acrocyanosis - occurs during puberty in adolescents, as well as with chronic heart failure and lung diseases;
4. chills.

More serious forms of the problem

In addition to vasospasms of the legs and arms, there are more dangerous lesions affecting the epicenter of the entire vascular system - the heart, as well as the brain, on which the existence of the entire organism depends. Such spasms are divided into:

• Spasm of the main arteries;
• Spasm of coronary vessels;

Symptoms of vascular spasms

Like other diseases, vasospasm has its own symptoms, which manifest themselves slightly differently, depending on the nature of the problem. Most often, the occurrence of peripheral vascular spasm is associated with a violation of the tone of small vessels - capillaries, many of which are located in the skin. They appear as a result of various negative factors: physical overexertion, a sharp change in the usual rhythm of life, changes weather conditions and so on.

Raynaud's syndrome

Vascular spasm of the extremities is accompanied by bleeding of the hands. They go numb (lose sensitivity). This condition is called, and doctors call it the “dead finger” symptom.

Acrocyanosis and chills

Stages of angiotrophoneurosis of the extremities: pallor, acrocyanosis, etc.

The causes of spontaneous spasms of the heart vessels have not yet been fully studied. But it has been proven that those who smokes, abuses alcohol and is exposed to constant stress, the risk of its occurrence is much higher.

If you have repeatedly noticed a rapid heartbeat or tight chest pain, this is a reason to consult a doctor. These symptoms are caused by the heart muscle not receiving essential nutrients (glucose and oxygen), which are supplied to it through the blood. And the reason for this is vasospasm. In addition, the basis of many heart diseases, such as myocardial infarction, cardiosclerosis, coronary and others, is a spasm of the heart vessels.

How to quickly relieve vasospasm?

Many people constantly experience various ailments associated with vascular spasms. Most of them have more than once experienced unpleasant pain in the form of tingling sensations when blood flow returns to normal. What needs to be done to quickly and effectively relieve spasm?

• For arms and legs the best remedy is a massage - intensive rubbing of the limbs. It warms up the tissues, makes the blood move faster, and this helps the spasm go away literally after 3-4 minutes.
• One more effective means are baths made of hot water With salt. By putting your hand into it, which is seized by a spasm up to the elbow, you will very soon feel relief. Hot wraps help a lot.
• Spasm of the heart vessels Hot, sweet tea with ginger or lemon balm removes well. You can add pharmaceutical tinctures of hawthorn and mint to tea. Drinking herbal tea is an excellent prevention of coronary spasms.

But these are temporary measures to help get rid of discomfort. It is necessary to treat not the symptoms, but the causes that contribute to the development of the disease. If you do not consult a doctor in time, they will reappear with even greater force and can lead to more serious consequences.

Complete treatment of vasospasm

Treatment of vasospasms begins with examination. The doctor must identify the cause of their occurrence and select the appropriate technique, which is individual for each patient. Most often, this requires a full examination and diagnosis of the condition of the blood vessels. In many clinics, diagnosis includes duplex scanning, measurement of oxygen tension through the skin, and ultrasound diplerography.

Treatment of vascular spasms in the extremities (arms and legs) is carried out by applying weak electric current. A two-week course of treatment includes daily procedures lasting no more than twelve minutes. If the disease begins to progress, necrosis may occur on the skin and small ulcers may appear. In this case, the doctor carries out additional treatment in the form of applying wound-healing and anti-inflammatory ointments to the diseased areas.

Treatment of spasms is long-term. It can last for more than one year. However, it happens that spasms cannot be stopped using medicinal methods. In this case, a surgical operation called sympathectomy is used. It is aimed at clipping the nerve fibers of the sympathetic trunk with a medical clip. In some cases they are removed. In addition to this, a number of auxiliary techniques are used, for example, plasmapheresis.

Antispasmodics (vasodilators) are used in treatment. At home, for vascular spasm, you can take a tablet of no-shpa, papaverine, dibazole or papazole.

Prevention of vascular problems

To prevent the occurrence of vascular spasms, it is recommended to do daily jogging over short distances. This warms up the blood best and makes it move faster through the vessels. In addition, running helps increase vascular tone. If you find it difficult to run, you can simply take a walk every day.

Giving up many bad habits, such as smoking and alcohol, leads to the restoration of the elasticity of blood vessels, and the likelihood of spasms is reduced.