Because APS can cause clotting in any blood vessel in either the veins or the arteries, the symptoms can occur throughout the body.
Listed below are the main symptoms but this is not an exhaustive list:
- Headache or migraine is a common feature and often improves rapidly when thr appropriate tratment is begun;
- Giddyness, for reasons that we don't fully understand, some people with APS have balance disorders and complain of feeling giddy;
- Memory loss, some people find it difficult to remember things, this problem is quickly alleviated by the prescription of blood-thinning medication;
- Visual disturbance. Somebody with APS can experience double vision or sudden visual loss. This can be caused either by the brain reaction
to disurbances in the supply of blood or by small clots occurring in the veins and arteries of the eye;
- Slurred speech, mental slugishness, fatigue are further symptoms that may occur when the brain is affected by APS;
- Skin disorders. Sometimes the arms and legs can take on a blotchy appearance. This can lead to repeated sores and nodules;
- Thrombosis. Deep vein thrombosis of the leg is the most common form of thrombosis. This causes pain in the leg and swelling in the calf.
After a while the whole leg may become swollen and "tight". The major concern in patients with a deep vein thrombosis is the risk of a small
piece of blood clot travelling to the lungs. The kidney and liver can also be affected by thrombosis;
- The heart, there are two main areas which can be affected, the heart valves and the coronary arteries which supply blood to the heart muscle. The heart
valves may become thickened and fail to work properly. The coronary arteries may also become thicker, leading to angina. Up to 20% of people under
the age of 45 who have a heart attack have antiphospholipid antibodies;
- Stroke, it is estimated that 1 in 5 people under the age of 40 who have a stroke may have APS;
- Miscarriage, problems in pregnancy occur because of disruption in the blood supply to the foetus. This is because the "sticky" bloood which is a
feature of APS can't cross the smallest blood vessels in the placenta. APS can also cause other complications in pregnancy such as high blood pressure,
small babies and early deliveries. The Arthritis Research Campaign states that " the success rate in APS pregnancy has now risen from 20% to over 70%
because of advances in the understanding and treatment of this disorder."
