Symptoms of Atherosclerosis Based on TCM
When qi becomes stagnant and blood stasis occurs, the patient feels sharp pain in the chest that stays in one spot because the blood is unable to circulate. (It should be noted that since blood stasis belongs to excessive evils, the pain is sharp. If the problem is due to deficiency, the pain is dull.) . Being classified as a yin evil, blood stasis will cause problems in yin environments, especially nighttime. Therefore, people with this problem usually feel more pain at night. On examination, the tongue appears dull and purple, and the pulse feels choppy and sinking, both of which are signs of blood stasis.


Symptoms of Atherosclerosis in Western Medicine
There are usually no symptoms until one or more arteries are so clogged with plaque that blood flow is severely reduced. This reduced flow of blood and oxygen to some part of the body (such as the heart) is called ischemia and may cause pain or discomfort. Some people have no symptoms until a blood clot forms, completely blocks an already narrowed artery, and causes a heart attack or stroke. The signs and symptoms of atherosclerosis may develop gradually and may be few, as the plaque builds up in the artery. Symptoms may also vary depending on the affected artery. However, when a major artery is blocked, signs and symptoms may be severe, such as those occurring with heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, or blood clot.

Symptoms depend on where the narrowing or blockage, which can occur almost anywhere in the body, is. If the arteries supplying the heart (coronary arteries) are narrowed, chest pain (angina) can result; if they are blocked, a heart attack can result. Abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure may also develop. Blockage in the arteries supplying the brain (carotid arteries) can cause a stroke. Narrowing of the arteries in the legs can cause leg cramps. In people older than 55, the arteries supplying one or both kidneys may become narrowed or blocked, sometimes causing kidney failure or dangerously high blood pressure (malignant hypertension.

Symptoms occur because as atherosclerosis narrows an artery more and more, tissues supplied by the artery may not receive enough blood and oxygen. The first symptom of a narrowing artery may be pain or cramps at times when blood flow cannot keep up with the tissues' need for oxygen. For instance, during exercise, a person may feel chest pain because the oxygen supply to the heart is inadequate; while walking, a person may feel leg cramps because the oxygen supply to the legs is inadequate.