Ischemia occurs when a part of your body doesn’t get enough oxygen and nutrients because of problems with blood vessels. It can affect your heart, brain, legs, and other parts of the body.
Sometimes, ischemia goes away on its own. But other times, it can lead to serious complications. For example, if it’s in your heart, a blood clot might form and block the flow of blood to your heart muscle. This is called a coronary artery disease (or coronary heart disease) and it’s one of the main reasons you might have chest pain, or angina.
If a blood clot completely blocks the flow of blood to your heart, it can stop your heart from pumping properly and cause a heart attack. This is a medical emergency and you need to call 911 right away.
Ischemic heart disease is the most common type of heart disease. It’s caused by narrowed blood vessels in your heart (coronary arteries). Over time, these narrowings can happen because of buildup of plaque in the arteries. Plaque is made of hard, sticky substances that collect in your arteries and block the flow of blood. It can also break apart and create a clot that stops your heart from pumping. The condition is called atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease.
Other types of ischemic heart disease can include:
If the problem is in your leg, it’s called peripheral artery disease. It’s a complication of atherosclerosis. It can cause a type of ischemia in your leg called critical limb ischemia, which happens when you have severe leg pain while walking or resting. It can also damage the tissue in your leg and lead to amputation.
Occasionally, the ischemia in your brain lasts only for a short time. This is called a transient ischemic attack (TIA). It duplicates many of the symptoms of stroke and often happens before a full stroke. It’s important to let your doctor know if you have a TIA, because it can lead to a stroke.
Other causes of ischemic conditions can include:
Some types of ischemia can be treated with medication. Other kinds can be treated with angioplasty and stent procedures, which open narrowed or blocked blood vessels. Some types can be treated with surgery to remove the affected tissue. You may need to be hospitalized for treatment. You may also need other tests to check your heart, blood vessels, or lungs. These include blood tests to see how well your heart is pumping, an electrocardiogram (EKG), and tests for a health condition that might have contributed to your ischemia, such as inherited blood clotting disorders or high cholesterol. You might also have a computed tomography angiography (CTA) or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) scan of your neck and brain. These tests highlight your blood vessels so your doctor can see them better. They might also use an ultrasound of your leg to look for signs of blocked arteries there, and an echocardiogram (echo) of your heart to check how well it’s pumping.
