Circulatory disorders
Blood circulation in the human body
Circulation is the continuous process of blood circulation in the body, which is necessary to provide all cells with nutrition and oxygen. Blood also removes metabolic products and carbon dioxide from the body. The heart is the central organ of blood circulation. It consists of arterial (left) and venous (right) halves. Those, in turn, are divided into the atrium and the ventricle, which communicate with each other. In the human body, there are two circles of blood circulation: large (systemic) and small (pulmonary).
In the systemic circulation, blood from the left atrium flows into the left ventricle, then into the aorta, after which it enters all organs through the arteries, veins and capillaries. In this case, gas exchange is carried out, the blood gives off nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and carbon dioxide and harmful metabolic products enter it. Then the capillaries pass into the venules, and then into the veins, which merge into the superior and inferior vena cava, which flow into the right atrium of the heart, ending the systemic circulation.
Pulmonary circulation is when from the right ventricle through the pulmonary arteries, blood saturated with carbon dioxide enters the lungs. Oxygen penetrates through the thin walls of the alveoli into the capillaries, while carbon dioxide, on the contrary, is released into the external environment. Oxygenated blood flows through the pulmonary veins into the left atrium.
A circulatory disorder is a condition when the cardiovascular system is unable to provide normal blood circulation to tissues and organs. Such a violation is manifested not only by a malfunction in the pumping function of the heart, but also by disorders in organs and tissues. By the nature of circulatory disorders, there are:
Initial manifestations of insufficient blood circulation, Acute circulatory disorders, · Chronic slowly progressive circulatory disorders.
Causes of acute and chronic circulatory disorders
The most common causes of circulatory disorders (hemodynamics) include smoking, diabetes mellitus, old age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, triglycerides, homocysteine levels, and overweight (over 30% of the norm). After seventy years, problems with peripheral arteries occur in every third person.
Chronic circulatory disorders in the lower extremities can be caused by diseases such as thrombosis, arterial stenosis, obliterating atherosclerosis, obliterating endarteritis, diabetes mellitus, varicose veins. Chronic circulatory disorders of the brain are associated with atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and smoking.
In general, circulatory disorders are either a result, or a consequence, or support and provision of general pathological processes, because blood enters all the cells of our body. Almost all diseases known to man are accompanied by more or less severe blood flow disorders.
Symptoms of acute and chronic circulatory disorders
If we consider the symptoms of acute and chronic insufficiency of cerebral circulation, then they may not bother the patient until something provokes an abundant blood supply to the brain, and this is physical labor, an unventilated room, stress, etc. They manifest themselves as headache, impaired coordination and vision, noise in the head, decreased performance, insomnia, memory impairment, numbness of the face or limbs, speech impairment.
If the symptoms persist for a long time, sometimes more than a day, this is a clear sign of a stroke - an acute circulatory disorder of the brain, often with a fatal outcome. If these symptoms appear, you should immediately take appropriate measures and call a doctor.
If we consider the symptoms of circulatory disorders in the upper and lower extremities, then the most common of them is intermittent claudication, i.e. pain or discomfort that occurs when walking and disappears in a calm position. The temperature of the hands and feet can be low, doctors call this "cold hands" or "cold feet."
Venous asterisks and reticules form on the legs, indicating the initial stage of varicose veins. The patient may be disturbed by a feeling of heaviness, weakness, or cramps in the lower limbs. The reason for all this is poor blood circulation in the arms and legs.
Chronic and acute disorders coexist etiologically. Symptoms of chronic failure are common in acutely impaired patients.
Diagnosis of circulatory disorders
Today, many methods are used to diagnose circulatory disorders:
- Ultrasound duplex scanning (examination of veins and arteries with ultrasound);
- Selective contrast phlebography (examination after the introduction of a contrast agent into the vein);
- Scintigraphy (nuclear analysis, harmless and painless);
- Computed tomography (layer-by-layer study of the structure of the object);
- Magnetic resonance imaging (the study is based on the use of a magnetic field and radio waves);
- Magnetic resonance angiography (a special case of MRI, it gives images of blood vessels).
Prevention of circulatory disorders
Normal blood circulation is an essential condition for a healthy life. To maintain it, there are various methods of prevention. First of all, try to lead an active lifestyle. A bath, sauna, contrast shower, hardening, massage and all kinds of vasodilators that reduce the tone of the vascular muscles also stimulate blood circulation.
Peripheral circulation treatment
Peripheral circulation is the movement of blood through capillaries, arterioles, small arteries, small veins, metarterioles, venules, arterio-venular anastomoses and postcapillary venules according to the principle from blood to tissue, then from tissue to blood. At a young age, circulatory problems are less common, but with age they are almost inevitable.
There are many drugs that improve blood circulation - antispasmodics, antiplatelet agents (prevent platelets from sticking together), anticoagulants (normalize blood microcirculation), angioprotectors (reduce vascular permeability) and others, but phyto or homeopathic drugs are considered safer at the initial stage of the disease. However, self-medication in such cases is dangerous. In order not to harm yourself, you need to consult your doctor. He will help you choose the most optimal option for medicines for the treatment and prevention of peripheral circulation.
Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist
Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".
