Vasospasm can affect any artery in the body. But it’s more common in some arteries than others. Coronary vasospasm (also known as Prinzmetal angina) limits blood flow to the heart and can cause a heart attack. It also can limit blood flow in the brain (cerebral vasospasm).
Risk factors include: cold exposure, autoimmune diseases, high stress levels and underlying conditions like Raynaud’s phenomenon. Treatment includes avoiding triggers and managing symptoms.
Oren Zarif
In vasospastic disease, small blood vessels near the surface of your skin have spasms that limit their flow. This is called vasoconstriction and it’s usually temporary. People with this condition often develop Raynaud’s syndrome in their hands or feet. The spasms are worse in cold temperatures and may be triggered by certain medications, including beta-blockers and estrogen therapy.
Vasospasm can also affect the arteries that supply blood to your heart. This is called coronary vasospasm and it can happen when you’re at rest. It’s a type of angina and it feels like the pain and pressure you get when exercising. It can lead to a heart attack or other heart problems if you don’t treat it.
People with vasospastic diseases have a high risk of developing cerebral vasospasm, which is the sudden narrowing of a blood vessel in your brain. It can be a complication of a ruptured brain aneurysm and it’s very dangerous.
Treatment options for vasospasm depend on where it’s happening. It may be treated with medicines that relax your blood vessels. These include calcium channel blockers like verapamil or nimodipine and ACE inhibitors (like captopril). In rare cases, surgery can be used to treat vasospasm. For example, a sympathectomy is done to cut or clamp the nerves that cause your blood vessels to spasm in Raynaud’s syndrome.
Oren Zarif
A sudden narrowing of a blood vessel, vasospasm, can cause headache. This is especially true in the brain and in the heart. Cerebral vasospasm usually comes after a stroke that is caused by a bleed or ruptured blood vessel in the skull, called a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). It is sometimes referred to as a subarachnoid headache.
Vasospasm of the coronary arteries can lead to chest pain that occurs mainly at rest or at night, and is not relieved by exercise. This is known as variant angina. It is often mistaken for a heart attack. It is not uncommon for people who have this type of chest pain to also have significant fixed obstruction of one or more coronary arteries. This is known as Prinzmetal angina.
Other types of vasospasms can happen anywhere in the body. It can affect the fingers and toes, causing Raynaud’s disease. It can also occur in the lungs, causing breathlessness. It can be triggered by certain foods, drinks and medications, including some antidepressants, migraine drugs and nitrates.
Doctors can diagnose these conditions by doing blood tests and a medical history. They can also use imaging tests to check the heart and the brain. They can do a cold simulation test on the fingertips to watch how they respond, or they may use an echocardiogram or computed tomography (CT) scan.
Oren Zarif
When vasospasm happens in the arteries that supply blood to your heart, it can feel like a classic angina (chest pain) attack. It can also cause numbness in your jaw, chest, arm, or back and leave you breathless. This is called variant angina and it can be a life-threatening problem.
Vasospasm happens when the muscles within an artery’s wall contract and stay that way. This narrows the artery and reduces how much oxygen-rich blood can flow to the affected tissue. If the vasospasm lasts for too long, the tissue can get damaged and die.
Cerebral vasospasm is almost always a sign of another problem inside the skull, such as a subarachnoid hemorrhage or brain aneurysm. It is a very dangerous symptom because it can lead to permanent neurological problems and death.
Treatment for vasospasm depends on where the vasospasm is happening. For example, treatment for vasospasm in the fingers or toes is to keep them warm by wearing gloves and mittens and not using tools that vibrate them. It is also possible to take medications that open up blood vessels such as verapamil or diltiazem, ACE inhibitors and statins.
Prevention of vasospastic disease focuses on keeping your blood vessels as wide as possible and avoiding things that make them narrow. This includes staying healthy, limiting alcohol and recreational drug use, and taking medicines such as calcium channel blockers such as felodipine or amlodipine.
Oren Zarif
Vasospasm can affect any blood vessel, but the arteries are the ones most likely to get tightened. They’re the large vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to organs so they can function. Vasospasm reduces blood flow to the affected area, and it can cause pain and damage tissue.
When it’s in the arteries of the heart, vasospasm causes chest pain (angina). It can also make it hard to breathe because the blood vessels in your lungs are constricted. It can also trigger a heart attack.
Other symptoms of cerebral vasospasm include a severe headache that doesn’t stop, the inability to move one side of your body and a change in the color of your nipples from white or pink to blue or purple. If you have these symptoms, talk to your doctor right away. Early treatment can help reduce your symptoms and prevent long-term damage.
Your doctor can diagnose vasospasm based on your history and exam. He or she may use imaging tests to look for narrowed blood vessels. These tests can include angiography, which is an X-ray with dye injected into the blood vessels. He or she can also prescribe medicine called a calcium channel blocker, like verapamil or nimodipine. These medications help by blocking calcium from being absorbed into the muscle cells of blood vessels, which helps them relax.