Hello to all. Sorry if this is the wrong place to post but I'm grasping at straws here. My sister in law thinks shes got hardening of the arteries. She thinks this because her dad had it and now her sister has it. Also she has symptoms of weak arms and legs. Cold numb feet, cold numb arms. She cant leave the house anymore as she cant walk properly but just manages to get to the kitchen etc. I have finally got her on daily B12 injections.
Her Gp honestly isn't very good. Theyve done hardly any blood tests ie B12, ferritin, vit D3 none of them.
I will try to post her latest bloods or ill type them in.
Thanking you all for your help in advance
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Flowers14
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My very limited understanding of "hardening of the arteries" is that it means the arteries are lined with calcium deposits.
If my understanding is correct then you have to ask "Where is that calcium coming from?" and "Where should that calcium really be?"
1) "Where is that calcium coming from?"
Calcium in the body comes from either the bones and teeth or from the diet. There is nowhere else for it to come from. Ideally, any "free" calcium (i.e. not stuck to the walls of the arteries) in the bloodstream should come from the diet, not the bones and teeth. Any calcium in the bones and teeth needs to stay where it is, not be floating around in the arteries and then getting stuck there.
2) "Where should that calcium really be?"
It should really be in the bones and teeth. If calcium is being leached out of the bones and teeth and deposited in the arteries then it suggests your sister is developing, or has developed, osteoporosis. She could ask her doctor for a DEXA Scan which will tell her for sure whether she has osteoporosis.
Another thing to think about is that the amount of calcium deposition in the arteries can also be measured. I have no idea under what circumstances the NHS will measure this. I do know that some private clinics have sprung up that will measure the Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) score for a fee, but I have no idea what that fee is likely to be. The only thing I know about CAC is that the closer to zero that number is, the better.
If your sister turns out to have osteoporosis then she needs to know how to help herself to improve her bones. I think that it is possible to overcome osteoporosis - someone on the forum wrote a post recently about having done so, but unfortunately I can't remember who it was so I can't find it.
To reduce existing calcium deposition in the arteries there is evidence that a low carb high fat diet will help. (Google for "CAC and LCHF".)
Nutrients that help bone health are :
Vitamin D3
Magnesium
Vitamin K2
Vitamin A
Boron
If your sister exercises it is important to do the right kind - but I'm out of my comfort zone on the subject of exercise, so internet research will be essential.
Edit : Please note that I have no medical training.
I’m not sure we can assume that bone loss through OP travels to the arteries and lodges there? Calcium, as I’m sure you are aware of, can and is lost in urine.
That is true. But if someone has calcium deposits lining their arteries the calcium has to come from somewhere, and the bloodstream seems to me to be the most obvious source.
Yes, I know we don't know what is wrong with the lady under discussion. My post was intended to show the ways and means in which the theory could be tested i.e. with a DEXA scan and a CAC score.
You're also right that cholesterol deposits are a cause of hardening of the arteries. But those deposits calcify. So we are both right, but we are discussing the problem at different points in time. Cholesterol comes first and calcification comes later.
"Facts on Hardening of the Arteries (Atherosclerosis)
Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) is a disorder in which arteries (blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to other parts of the body) become narrowed because fat (cholesterol deposits called atherosclerosis) is first deposited on the inside walls of the arteries, then becomes hardened by fibrous tissue and calcification (arteriosclerosis). As this plaque grows, it narrows the lumen of the artery (the space in the artery tubes), thereby reducing both the oxygen and blood supply to the affected organ (like the heart, eyes, kidney, legs, gut, or the brain). The plaque may eventually severely block the artery, causing the death of the tissue supplied by the artery, for example, heart attack or stroke."
I think your best bet is to advise your sister in law to change her doctor and visit a recommended one. Her symptoms could be down to many conditions and without a sympathetic GP who is prepared to listen and undertake specific testing, I fear she is not going to make much progress in discovering just what the problem is.
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Thyroid or something else?
