Okay i hope people can advise, Late last year i attended a claudication clinic twice as i started to develop pain in both calves when walking around 2miles. I was never out of breath and apart from the slight pain i never had to stop.
The nurse who was very informative tested my arms at 221 and said its normal but my legs are 176, she explained it was around 200 is the bench mark. She asked if i was a smoker which i have never been.
Both test over 3 months remained constant
They advise i would go on an aspirin and my blood pressure which was through the roof, i seem to suffer with anxiety when i walk through any dr's door was around 150/92 and was subsequently prescribed Ramipril. she aske about my cholesterol and the blood showed @ 6
As i left there the panic set in and i thought i was having a heart attack, of i went to the A&E and the DR ordered up an ECG which she said was normal and the blood gas test around the hear and said it was also normal, from there i was then sent for an xray and was told that i had no issues with the heart and lungs as both were normal, although a sligh ache above the sternum never went away.
I can since walk up to 6KM (never out of breath and was running a mile without any issues) and on the cusp of my last cholesterol test i was put on astorvastin which was on 3 days befor the blood test and my cholesterol was considered normal at 4.7 although its probably less now as i was only on it 3 days.
I since then received another test to go for a 24hr ECG that was probably ordered before the trip to the A&E.
As you can understand my anxiety is through the roof and although the BP started to come down it seems to go up when i feel worse or start to panic.
Since then i started to exercise by walking and managed to get up to around 6K without any real calf pulls, prior to my last test i was running a mile before the calf pain set in.
I am 46 and this is worrying the life out of me, i cant stop reading about it and feel as if i am alone, the wife things i am at it, but really i still have the slight ache and it seems to come and go.
Anybody having similar issues, does this mean i have serious cardio vascular disease, sorry for asking as i don't really know
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stevieR74
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Hi Stevei, calf pain is usually not enough blood starving the muscles of oxygen. Exercising is a big help and with me it improved a lot. However at your age you should get scanned. They really have to look at your arteries including around your heart. Don’t take no for an answer it’s important. With me they found a blockage in my Femoral artery and surgery cleared it but I’m 74.
Thanks Tully, I have managed to negate the calf pain with some light running and long walking down to nothing, I wish they would scan the blooming legs,! They told me at the time it’s manageable with meds and diet.
Since then I’ve had an ecg and X-ray multiple blood tests and the blood test for heart and they all came back normal.
At 46 it was a bit of a fright and since I don’t qualify for referral, they said both Doppler test seem to borderline but ok in the arms , no out of Brest or nothing.
It just goes through my head every day and when you read the Internet it takes you right to death sentence, which I should no better, apparently my mother had it for 20 years and sovdoe my father, my mother smoked 40 a day and past away at 76, my dads still here at 81
Hi jimton, yeah I get small twitches in my calf’s and then blame that lol, I laugh but don’t, I did the 3 min stair challenge with no issues, took some lower calf strain and thought I was taking an episode.
My Doppler came back lower than arms although told borderline and could be managed by tablets and exercise,
I did a lot of running in my 30 , this was major ache but seems to have subsided with lots of walking which I hopes good.
Not having been ill in my life this has floored my mental health 😒
I've exercised since I was a teenager, then a few years ago I was told I had arthritis in various joints so I know what you mean, never sick but now thus, I'm OK mentally though but was in shock at the beggining. I had to stop everything for a couple of years then start at the beggining, I'm running and weight trading again, the fact that I still can had made me mentally good.
Just keep going and try to ignore those little twitches lol
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