Atherosclerosis

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Atherosclerosis is thickening and hardening of the arteries and it is a condition that occurs from plaque build up inside of the arteries. It is believed it is the result of smoking, high blood pressure, heredity, and high cholesterol. foods.

Plaque may partially or totally occlude the artery causing inadequate blood flow through the affected artery.

There are two things that can happen where plaque is present:
There may be bleeding (hemorrhage) into the plaque or/and a blood clot (thrombus) may form on the plaque's surface. If any of these two occur and blocks the whole artery, a heart attack or stroke may be the result.

This disease is a slow process that affects large and small arteries. In some people, this may happen rapidly after they are 30 years old. Others may not have any problems until an older age.

According to research, cigarette smoking speeds up the growth of plaque inside the arteries of the heart, the aorta, and arteries of the legs. The damage caused by cholesterol, high blood pressure, and cigarette smoke causes the accumulation of fats, cholesterol, platelets, cellular debris, calcium, and other substances over a long period of time.

When a piece of plaque breaks loose it leaves a lesion and then a blood clot starts to form as if to heal that lesion. This process makes matters worse because the artery is now more occluded and when those clots break loose, they travel to vital organs such as the heart, lungs, and brain. They occlude arteries supplying blood to certain areas of those organs which lead to a heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism.

The main focus here should be prevention by modifying your diet to low cholesterol and low fat. You may want to increase exercise because it helps lower your cholesterol levels. If you are a smoker, this is a good time to quit smoking.

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