Leg pain can mean heart disease. Clogged arteries or arteriosclerosis, only happens in the heart but when it happens throughout the body, it’s called Peripheral Arterial Disease or PAD. Peripheral Arterial Disease causes leg pain that is considered as an ‘early warning’ that someone is at high risk for having Heart disease. Leg pain can also be a result of standing, aging, or overdoing workout or, it can be a symptom of cardiovascular disease. It is surprisingly difficult recount why your legs hurt, it’s better to have an evaluation by Physician/Specialist.
Circulation and leg pain
The legs are distant from the heart. The legs; especially the calf muscles require blood to work hard when we walk. If your legs hurt when you walk, it could be due to poor circulation. A substance called plaque building up in both your arteries and blood vessels narrows making them less flexible, and more difficult for your blood to flow around the body. If you have plaque building up in your blood vessels, you may feel pain in your calves, that pain is called claudication, and it is a symptom of Heart disease and Peripheral Artery Disease or PAD.
The heart connection
If the arteries in your legs are blocked by plaque, arteries in other parts of your body are too. The plaque that causes PAD is exactly the same substance that causes heart disease. Your leg pain could well be a symptom of cardiovascular disease that puts you at risk of having a heart attack.
What you can do
If you notice leg pain and you are not sure why, schedule an appointment with us. Our Physicians/Specialist will help you out.
