Blood vessels are channels that carry blood throughout your body and form a closed loop, like a circuit, that begins and ends at your heart. Your heart and blood vessels work as one, creating the circulatory system. Altogether, this vast network stretches nearly 60,000 miles within your body.
Think of your circulatory system as a branching network of roads. The highways are the arteries, carrying blood away from the heart, which then narrow into arterioles. On the way back, small venules collect blood from the body and join together to form veins that return it to the heart. Linking the two are capillaries, tiny, delicate pathways where the real exchange happens: oxygen and nutrients flow into the tissues, while wastes move back into the blood.
Becoming aware of the signs of clogged vessels can help you realize how sneaky heart-related issues can be.
According to My Cleveland Clinic, some of the most common and more general symptoms include changes in skin color — a bluish skin tone, coldness or numbness in your legs, feet, arms or hands, fatigue, and shortness of breath, among the rest.
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