Symptoms of Clogged Arteries in your Neck

You are not likely to experience any symptoms until one of the carotid arteries gets completely clogged, or at least 80% blocked. By the time you reach this stage, you are already at a high risk of having a stroke or transient ischemic attack. TIA is a mini-stroke which can last for a few minutes or even several hours. Here are a few symptoms to watch out for:

• Sudden numbness or weakness in the arms, legs or face
• Garbled speech
• Trouble speaking and understanding
• Sudden problems in vision in one eye or both eyes
• Dizziness
• Loss of balance
• Sudden severe headache
• Drooping on a side of face

It is advised to call medical help immediately if you experience any of these symptoms. Most of the times, they are signs of medical emergency.

Although symptoms do not occur until you have 80% clogged arteries, some research has found some common symptoms in people who are diagnosed with carotid artery disease later. Although there can be other reasons for these symptoms, you can watch out for them in order to be careful. Some of such symptoms are:

• Erectile dysfunction: Men can take erectile dysfunction as a silent sign of CHD. When a man finds it difficult to achieve erection, it can be due to a clogged artery in any part of the body. If you are experiencing this problem, you have 3-5 years to prevent any heart issue and get back on track.
• Baldness: According to a study, severe baldness on the crown of your head can strongly predict clogged arteries in your body. A research has shockingly found that bald people have two times more risks of dying from a heart disease.
• Ear crease: If you have developed an angled crease in your ear running diagonally from your canal to the earlobe’s lower edge, then you can take it as a serious sign of CAD. This crease may be caused due to poor circulation in the arteries of your neck. Although this crease may also the result of aging and smoking, be careful for CAD as well.
• Calf pain while walking: CAD can block arteries in your legs too, particularly if you are a smoker. If you are experiencing calf pain while walking, you should seek medical evaluation immediately. Your physician will examine pulse in your legs and measure blood flow and blood pressure to diagnose poor circulation

Some conditions may lead to increased risk of clogged arteries in your neck and other parts of the body, including the following:

• People with high blood pressure, as it may make your arterial walls weaker, and make them more susceptible to get clogged.
• High cholesterol remains a major risk factor for CAD. Make sure you lower your cholesterol as a preventive measure.
• If you have diabetes, your body is less efficient in processing sugar in your blood. It also increases your blood pressure.
• Obese people have high risk of high blood pressure and diabetes, which can indirectly lead to CAD.
• Physical inactivity increases your chances of having high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes, all of which are major risk factors of CAD.
• Smoking may irritate your arterial lining, due to which your blood pressure and heart rate increase.
• Old age stiffens your arteries and make them more susceptible to blockage

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to Symptoms of Clogged Arteries in your Neck, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.