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Anyone have Small vessel spasms in their heart?
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Jun 21, 2023 | Replies (12)Comment receiving replies
@txbunny67, did your cardiologist say that you have small vessel heart disease (also known as coronary microvascular disease)?
Experts think that the causes of small vessel disease are the same as the causes for diseases affecting the larger vessels of the heart, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes. Small vessel disease is more likely to affect women than men. This is especially true in people with low estrogen levels, which occurs around menopause.
Other risk factors for include:
- Autoimmune disease, including vasculitis.
- Having overweight/obesity.
- Diabetes.
- Eating a diet that’s high in salt, saturated fat and processed foods.
- High blood pressure.
- High cholesterol.
- Rheumatologic disorders, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
- Sedentary lifestyle with low levels of physical activity.
- Smoking.
Were you given any guidance on how to avoid the spasms?
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My understanding is there can be actual blockages causing vascular problems or there can be spasms that can happen without any blockages but have the same impact on blood flow. I am trying to figure this out myself.
I am on statins to help vascular lining, calcium channel blockers that I understand help the small vessels, daily nitrates to help expand vessels that prevent spasms, and sublingual nitro pills as needed to stop angina/pain on the spot that occasionally happens. I have not been diagnosed but Mayo cardiology told me, “some people have heart spasms”. I think it is difficult to diagnose. I have complained about problems for several years and it was only when they got unmanageable that I figured out I was not getting treated appropriately locally, and my current treatment has been game-changing for me.
https://www.internationalheartspasmsalliance.org/ has been a good resource for me. I made a connection in their community group and asked for a mentor, a decision that has helped me try and figure all this out.