Throbbing Blood Vessels vs. Twitching Muscles
You suddenly feel something squirming or thumping in your neck, stomach or leg: Is this a blood vessel throbbing or a muscle twitching?
Sometimes, the “crawling” sensation occurs in multiple spots at the same time in a large area such as the back of the legs – with various sections acting up only seconds or minutes apart.
The body is rampant with blood vessels, ranging from those that are microscopic in diameter to the biggest blood vessel in the body: the aorta.
So how can you tell if the “twitching” is actually a throbbing blood vessel vs. a muscle?
“Well, actually, the twitching is due to a nerve misfiring causing the muscle to twitch,” begins Susan L. Besser, MD, with Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, and Diplomate, American Board of Obesity Medicine and board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.
Dr. Besser explains, “It’s the same mechanism as hiccups, although in that case the misfiring nerve causes the diaphragm (a muscle) to twitch.
“So you really aren’t feeling veins [or blood vessels] at all, but the result of a nerve misfire.”
When I was a child I thought that the squirmy or wriggling sensation (think a worm in the ground) was a vein or artery throbbing, and thought nothing of it. Kids are fearless, aren’t they?
But some adults believe that they’re feeling a blood vessel throbbing or pulsating, when in fact, it’s nothing more than a benign twitching of muscles (fasciculations).
However, let’s face it: It FEELS as though a vein is pulsing or throbbing.
Every day, we can SEE our veins protruding in our hands and feet, and sometimes arms. Imagine if one started throbbing.
What might it feel like? And voila, people draw the conclusion that their veins are pulsating or vibrating.
But rest assured, next time you feel a worm crawling under your skin, this is not a vascular situation. It is muscle fibers misfiring.
By far, the most common causes of twitching muscles are fatigue, physical stress, exercise and anxiety – including anxiety over the fasciculations.
Another cause is magnesium deficiency. This mineral promotes muscle relaxation.
If your body is short on magnesium, then another mineral — calcium — will cause muscle contraction.
Ongoing twitching can be caused by inadequate calcium and magnesium.
So it’s time to stop fearing that your blood vessels are throbbing, and instead, to realize that you can bet the farm that it’s just some harmless muscle twitching.
Dr. Besser provides comprehensive family care, treating common and acute primary conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Her ongoing approach allows her the opportunity to provide accurate and critical diagnoses of more complex conditions and disorders.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/Image Point Fr
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Can Low Blood Pressure Make You Cold?
Do you ever get waves of suddenly feeling cold or chilly, despite the room temperature being 72 or even 75?
Could this be low blood pressure?
Not only do your hands feel cold, but you know you’d feel more comfortable with a sweater on.
When you place your hands to your tummy, you can’t keep them there because they’re so cold!
Yet otherwise you feel perfectly fine.
Can low blood pressure make you feel cold?
“No, your blood pressure does not really affect your temperature,” says Susan L. Besser, MD, with Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, and Diplomate American Board of Obesity Medicine and board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.
“Temperature regulation is controlled by different mechanisms than blood pressure regulation,” continues Dr. Besser.
“And feeling cold really isn’t related to blood pressure at all (within normal ranges).
“Obviously if you have a serious illness that causes low blood pressure (like significant blood loss), you might also feel cold.”
But for the vast majority of people who, for no apparent reason while at their computer, watching TV or during some other passive activity start feeling chilly, the cause is not related to low blood pressure or significant blood loss.
If you feel cold constantly or on a frequent basis with no explanation, see a doctor, as there are MANY medical conditions that can cause one to feel chilly.
If the sensation is only on a periodic basis, it could be anxiety related, even if you’re not actively thinking of the stressors in your life.
It could be background anxiety, kind of like a “stress malware program” running in the background of your mind’s computer.
It could also be a heating malfunction in your home that’s not showing on the thermostat.
Check the heat source (e.g., heating vents that run along the baseboards) to see if heat is being generated.
Dr. Besser provides comprehensive family care, treating common and acute primary conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Her ongoing approach allows her the opportunity to provide accurate and critical diagnoses of more complex conditions and disorders.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/bissun
Why Does My Heart Beat Fast when Trying to Fall Asleep?
It’s not always increased awareness that makes you realize that your heart is beating pretty fast as you lie in bed to go to sleep at night.
Though for some people, this explanation holds.
“It may be an increased awareness of your body’s function (you are just lying there focusing on yourself without distractions),” says Susan L. Besser, MD, with Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, and Diplomate American Board of Obesity Medicine and board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.
Dr. Besser continues, “Two, because you are just lying there you may start to think about your day (and the stresses). Obviously that my raise your pulse.
“Lastly, when you lay down your blood pressure and other bodily functions adjust to your new position — that could also cause a transient increase in pulse.”
If you know for a fact that your heart beats faster after lying down at bedtime – because you’ve taken or felt your pulse while awake at night and then taken or felt it again after getting in bed – this is clearly not an issue of increased awareness.
Keep in mind that simply taking or feeling your pulse while in bed can induce anxiety that makes your heart beat faster.
You may want to wear a pulse oximeter that records heart rate while you’re up and about for a few hours before bedtime, and then keep it on your finger after getting in bed and falling asleep.
Next time you awaken, remove it. It will have retained a recording of the data.
The only caveat is that sometimes these devices are tricky as far as retrieving the data.
But if you can figure it out, you’ll note that once you fall asleep, your heart rate will be slower than it is at any point of the day.
You’ll also be able to see if your heart rate truly does soar after you lie down.
Note the time you get into bed, because the oximeter data will have a timeline to match that up against.
Shifting around in bed, struggling to find a good position with the blankets and pillows, etc., will raise heart rate.
But once you’re lying still, the oximeter will record what your pulse is, as well, and you can look at the objective data after you upload it to your computer.
If you truly had a heart problem that was causing an accelerated pulse, this would happen while you were up and about.
A heart problem doesn’t wait until you’ve just gotten into bed to start speeding up your pulse, especially since lying down reduces your body’s energy needs – save for that transient adjustment to your new position that Dr. Besser pointed out or slugging the pillows.
Lying down to go to sleep may also be a conditioned stimulus to anxiety – thinking about your day, as Dr. Besser also pointed out.
Or, it may be the next day that you’re thinking about that gets your heart beating faster than usual.
Solutions
• A full cardiac workup that comes out negative for any problems will really put your mind at ease.
• However, you may still find your heart beats fast the moment you lie down for sleep – due to anxiety about the issue despite normal test results, and/or anxiety about your life.
• Before going to bed, get ready for the next day as much as possible.
• Lay out next day’s clothes.
• Prepare next day’s breakfast as much as you can, such as cracking and mixing the eggs and seasoning them, then placing them in a covered bowl in the refrigerator. Set out the pan and spatula, plates and silverware, etc.
• Prepare next day’s lunch.
• Set snail mail you want to send at your front door so you won’t forget it.
• Write out a to-do list of tasks you must get done the next day.
This way, by the time you lie down to go to sleep, your anxiety levels will be reduced, and your heart should not be beating so fast anymore due to anxiety.
Dr. Besser provides comprehensive family care, treating common and acute primary conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Her ongoing approach allows her the opportunity to provide accurate and critical diagnoses of more complex conditions and disorders.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Top image: Shutterstock/Supawadee56 beating fast
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