Peripheral Artery Disease
When a person begins to experience sharp, stabbing, sudden left-side muscle pains, it can be attributed to high cholesterol levels. However, it may also mean a more troubling situation as such pain can be traced to underlying conditions such as atherosclerosis, heart disease, and an increased risk of stroke. Medical practitioners call this condition peripheral artery disease (PAD), and they believe this is one of the telltale signs that the body has elevated cholesterol levels.
People who suffer from PAD report that they experience acute pain such as aching or cramping, particularly on the left side of the body. Most patients say that acute pain comes after extended periods of writing, knitting, or other manual tasks. While the pain can range from mild to acute, most doctors say that raising and resting the legs for a few minutes will result in the cessation of pain. However, once this condition develops, the patient will regularly feel numbness and pain in the legs and hips.
