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Leg pain is a familiar and uncomfortable experience for many members of MyHeartDiseaseTeam. If you’ve dealt with different types of leg pain, you know how much it can impact quality of life
One member shared, “I have experienced extreme crippling pain in my upper left thigh while sleeping at night. The pain was so severe and intense that I could not even stand up, much less walk.”
Read on to learn more about heart disease and leg pain, what the research says about possible causes, and ways to find relief.
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What Causes Leg Pain in People With Heart Disease?For people with heart disease, leg pain may be related to poor blood flow, medication side effects, lifestyle factors, or other issues, such as an injury.
A condition called claudication produces muscle pain with movement. Pain caused by claudication comes and goes.
Usually, pain is worse in the lower body, but it can also happen in the arms. The symptoms are triggered during movement (like walking) and improve during rest.
Claudication can be a symptom of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and restricted blood flow to the limbs due to narrow arteries. PAD is believed to affect more than 200 million people worldwide.
In severe cases of PAD, pain persists during rest and other signs of poor circulation develop. These may include impaired wound healing, discolored skin, numbness, and skin that’s cool to the touch.
People with high cholesterol and high blood pressure are at higher risk for peripheral artery disease. Diabetes, smoking, and obesity also increase the risk. Because many of these risk factors go hand-in-hand with risks for cardiovascular disease, making heart-healthy lifestyle choices can benefit both conditions.
If leg pain comes with swelling, a serious condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT) may be to blame.
DVT happens when there’s a blood clot in the veins. The related pain often starts in the calf muscle and may include discoloration in the skin and a warm feeling in the leg. People with heart failure have an increased risk of DVT, as do those with certain genetic traits.
The biggest danger of DVT is the possibility of the clot dislodging and traveling to the lungs. When a clot blocks blood vessels in the lungs, it produces a life-threatening event known as a pulmonary embolism. The complications of DVT are an example of why it’s crucial to share symptoms of leg pain with your healthcare provider, even if they don’t seem severe.
In other cases, leg pain isn’t the result of a heart condition but rather of the medication used to treat heart disease. Statins are a group of drugs that lower “bad cholesterol” to help prevent heart disease complications such as stroke. Statins have been linked to muscle pain and cramps that may affect leg muscles.
“I take a statin, Lipitor, and had leg and toe cramps. My provider told me to cut my statin in half and take a half pill every other night at bedtime. Cutting the pill helped some, but I still have leg pain,” one member shared. “I also started eating two bananas per day, one for breakfast and another at bedtime, which I think has helped with the cramps.”
It’s important to note that recent research has shown that statin-related muscle cramps are uncommon. Many older adults experience muscle pain in general. If you’re taking statins and experience muscle pain in your legs, don’t change your statin medication without talking to your doctor first.
Lifestyle changes such as stretching and exercise may reduce muscle symptoms.
Leg cramps can have causes unrelated to heart health or statins. For example, they’re common among runners, during pregnancy, and in people who are sedentary or don’t stretch enough.
Other common causes of leg pain include:
Various factors may cause leg pain. You won’t be able to know the root of the problem until you meet with your doctor for a checkup.
5 Treatment Options To Relieve Leg PainYour healthcare provider can recommend diagnostic tests to figure out what’s causing your leg pain. Treatment will be based on the cause.
General recommendations for leg pain sometimes involve elevating your leg, stretching, massaging, or applying ice. But before trying any home remedy, it’s essential to get an accurate diagnosis in case medical treatment is needed.
If your leg pain is related to a specific medical condition, treatment of the condition will likely help relieve the pain.
For peripheral artery disease, treatment usually includes structured exercise therapy (SET) to improve vascular health. Vasodilator medication is sometimes prescribed because it can help open blood vessels and make walking easier.
Medication may be recommended to manage underlying factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
In cases that don’t improve with standard treatment, you may need a procedure such as angioplasty (surgery to widen the damaged artery) or vascular surgery to transplant a healthy vessel in place of the narrowed artery.
DVT is treated mainly with anticoagulants (blood thinners). In some cases, thrombolytics are used to break up blockages, or a filter is placed in the vena cava (a large vein in the abdomen) to stop clots from reaching the lungs.
Doctors often recommend regular exercise for claudication management, DVT prevention, and heart health in general. Your healthcare team can recommend an appropriate level of exercise for you.
Walking is a simple and popular exercise option. “Feeling a bit under the weather today, but will go to the park for my daily walk,” one MyHeartDiseaseTeam member shared.
If you’re dealing with new or worsening leg pain or swelling, it’s important to be evaluated by your doctor as soon as possible, particularly if you have signs of life-threatening DVT. Avoid exercising until you get the all-clear from your doctor.
Dehydration can contribute to painful leg cramps. Unless you’re on a water restriction order or diuretic, drinking plenty of water is an easy way to improve your health.
One MyHeartDiseaseTeam member shared their effort to switch from unhealthy sweetened drinks to plain water: “I completed my three-day drinking water challenge!!”
Over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers — such as ibuprofen — should only be taken if advised by your doctor. Ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke, especially if you’re living with heart disease or kidney disease.
Magnesium is sometimes promoted as a supplement for relieving nighttime leg cramps. However, research has shown little evidence that magnesium supplements improve nocturnal leg cramps.
Your healthcare provider can test your magnesium levels to determine if a magnesium supplement is appropriate for you. Before you experiment with any dietary supplement or home remedy, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider and make sure there are no potential medication interactions or other harmful effects.
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A vain was used from my right leg for my by-pass the cut healed well, the top of the cut pains often,I felt a bubble pop ? a vain ????
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It does not taste good, but drinking 1 oz of apple cider vinegar will stop them when nothing else will. I have to drink it occasionally when the leg cramps get bad.
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