Enfermedad vascular

Like the arteries in your heart, the arteries outside your heart (peripheral arteries) can also develop disease. Over time, these arteries can become narrowed or blocked, which reduces blood flow to important areas of the body. This lack of blood flow is called ischemia, and it can damage tissues and organs if not treated.

Types of peripheral arterial disease include:

• Atherosclerosis: Atherosclerosis is a type of Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). It happens when plaque made of fat, cholesterol, and other substances builds up inside the artery walls. When this narrowing affects arteries in the legs or arms, it can lead to PVD.
• Enfermedad vascular periférica (PVD): Blockage in the arteries that can affect the legs, which can lead to gangrene and limb loss. PVD can affect all organ systems in the body.
• Intestinal ischemic syndrome: Blockage in the arteries to the gastrointestinal system.
• Renal artery disease: Blockage in the kidney arteries, potentially causing kidney failure.
• Raynaud's phenomenon: Spasms in the small arteries of the fingers or toes triggered by cold or stress.

Estas afecciones afectan a las dos arterias carótidas principales del cuello:

• Carotid artery disease: A blockage or narrowing in the arteries that supply blood to your brain, which can cause a mini-stroke (TIA) or stroke.
• Carotid artery dissection: A tear in one of the artery's layers, allowing blood to leak between the layers.
• Carotid body tumors: Growths in the nerve tissue around your carotid artery.
• Carotid artery aneurysm: A bulge in the artery wall that weakens it and could lead to a rupture.

Las venas son tubos flexibles con válvulas unidireccionales que ayudan a que la sangre fluya hacia el corazón. Cuando los músculos se contraen, las válvulas se abren, y cuando los músculos se relajan, las válvulas se cierran para impedir que la sangre fluya hacia atrás. Si estas válvulas están dañadas, la sangre puede fluir en ambas direcciones, lo que provoca estancamientos, hinchazón y venas abultadas. Esto puede causar síntomas como pesadez, dolor, hinchazón, palpitaciones o picores, y puede provocar coágulos sanguíneos.

• Varicose veins: Bulging, swollen, rope-like veins just under the skin, caused by damaged valves.
• Spider veins: Small red or purple veins on the knees, calves or thighs, caused by swollen capillaries.
• May-Thurner syndrome (MTS): Compression of the left iliac vein by the right iliac artery, increasing the risk of blood clots in the left leg.
• Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS): A condition caused by pressure on the nerves or blood vessels in the neck, armpit or chest.
• Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI): When veins in the legs can’t efficiently return blood to the heart, leading to swelling and other symptoms.

Un coágulo se forma cuando la sangre se espesa y se convierte en una masa sólida. Cuando un coágulo se forma en el interior de un vaso sanguíneo (lo que se denomina trombo), puede desprenderse y desplazarse por el torrente sanguíneo, provocando enfermedades graves como la trombosis venosa profunda, la embolia pulmonar, el infarto de miocardio o el ictus.

Los coágulos sanguíneos en las arterias pueden aumentar el riesgo de derrame cerebral, infarto de miocardio, dolor intenso en las piernas, problemas para caminar o incluso la pérdida de una extremidad.

• Blood clotting disorders: Conditions that raise the risk of developing blood clots by making blood more likely to clot. These can be inherited (present at birth) or developed later. Some disorders result from high levels of clotting factors in the blood or low levels of natural blood thinners. One of the most serious disorders involves antiphospholipid antibodies, which can cause clots in both arteries and veins.
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT): A blood clot in one of the main veins of an extremity.
• Pulmonary embolism: A blood clot that breaks free from a vein and travels to the lungs.
• Axillo-subclavian vein thrombosis (Paget-Schroetter Syndrome): A condition affecting young athletes when pressure from the collarbone or muscles compresses a vein, increasing the risk of clots.
• Superficial thrombophlebitis: A blood clot in a vein just under the skin.

An aneurysm is a bulge that forms in the wall of a blood vessel. It can happen in any blood vessel, but it most often occurs in the aorta, the main blood vessel that carries blood from the heart. There are two main types of aortic aneurysms. Thoracic aortic aneurysms, which happen in the part of the aorta that goes through the chest, and abdominal aortic aneurysms, which occur in the part of the aorta that runs through the abdomen.

El sistema linfático incluye una gran red de vasos y ganglios linfáticos que ayudan a coordinar la función del sistema inmunológico para proteger al organismo de sustancias extrañas. Lymphedema, una acumulación anormal de líquido, se desarrolla cuando los vasos linfáticos o los ganglios linfáticos faltan, están deteriorados, dañados o han sido extirpados.

• Primary lymphedema (rare): Some people are born without certain lymph vessels or have abnormalities.
• Secondary lymphedema: Occurs when a blockage or interruption alters the lymphatic system. Causes include infection, malignancy, surgery, scar tissue formation, trauma, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), radiation or other cancer treatments.

La vasculitis es cuando sus vasos sanguíneos se inflaman, lo que puede ocurrir debido a medicamentos, infecciones o a veces por razones desconocidas. Esta hinchazón puede dificultar el flujo sanguíneo a través de los vasos. La vasculitis suele estar relacionada con otros problemas de salud, como afecciones reumatológicas o enfermedades del tejido conectivo. También puede provocar un aneurisma, que es una protuberancia en el vaso sanguíneo.