How dose it Occur? what causes it? and How to prevent it?
Thank you Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients from your heart to the rest of your body. Healthy arteries are flexible, strong and elastic. Over time, however, too much pressure in your arteries can make the walls thick and stiff 鈥?sometimes restricting blood flow to your organs and tissues. This process is called arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
Atherosclerosis is a specific type of arteriosclerosis, but the terms are often used interchangeably. Atherosclerosis refers to the buildup of fats in and on your artery walls (plaques), which can restrict blood flow. These plaques can also burst, causing a blood clot. Although atherosclerosis is often considered a heart problem, it can affect arteries anywhere in your body. Atherosclerosis is a preventable and treatable condition.
Symptoms
Atherosclerosis develops gradually. There are usually no atherosclerosis symptoms until an artery is so narrowed or clogged that it can't supply adequate blood to your organs and tissues. Sometimes a blood clot completely obstructs blood flow, or even breaks apart and causes blood clots that can trigger a heart attack or stroke.
Atherosclerosis symptoms depend on which arteries are affected. For example:
* If you have atherosclerosis in your heart arteries, you may have symptoms similar to those of a heart attack, such as chest pain (angina).
* If you have atherosclerosis in the arteries leading to your brain, you may have symptoms such as sudden numbness or weakness in your arms or legs, difficulty speaking or slurred speech, or drooping muscles in your face.
* If you have atherosclerosis in the arteries in your arms and legs, you may have symptoms of peripheral arterial disease, such as leg pain when walking (intermittent claudication).
Sometimes atherosclerosis causes erectile dysfunction in men.
When to see a doctor
If you think you have atherosclerosis 鈥?or risk factors for hardening of the arteries 鈥?talk to your doctor. Also pay attention to early symptoms of inadequate blood flow, such as chest pain (angina), leg pain or numbness. Early diagnosis and treatment can stop atherosclerosis from worsening and prevent a medical emergency.
Causes
Atherosclerosis is a slow, progressive disease that may begin as early as childhood. Although the exact cause is unknown, researchers suspect that atherosclerosis starts with damage or injury to the inner layer of an artery. The damage may be caused by:
* High blood pressure
* High cholesterol
* An irritant, such as nicotine
* Certain diseases, such as diabetes
Once the inner wall of an artery is damaged, blood cells called platelets often clump at the injury site to try to repair the artery, leading to inflammation. Over time, fatty deposits (plaques) made of cholesterol and other cellular waste products also accumulate at the injury and harden, narrowing your arteries. The organs and tissues connected to the blocked arteries then don't receive enough blood to function properly.
Eventually pieces of the fatty deposits may rupture and enter your bloodstream. This can cause a blood clot to form and damage your organs, such as in a heart attack. A blood clot can also travel to other parts of your body and partially or totally block blood flow to another organ.
Illustration showing development of atherosclerosis
In atherosclerosis, arteries are clogged by an accumulation of plaques 鈥?which are made up of cholesterol particles, fat, calcium, cellular waste and other substances.
Risk factors
Hardening of the arteries occurs over time. In addition to simply getting older, factors that increase the risk of atherosclerosis include:
* High blood pressure
* High cholesterol
* Diabetes
* Obesity
* Smoking
* A family history of aneurysm or early heart disease
Complications
The complications of atherosclerosis depend on the location of the blocked arteries. For example:
* Coronary artery disease. When atherosclerosis narrows the arteries close to your heart, you may develop coronary artery disease, which can cause chest pain (angina) or a heart attack.
* Carotid artery disease. When atherosclerosis narrows the arteries close to your brain, you may develop carotid artery disease, which can cause a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke.
* Peripheral artery disease. When atherosclerosis narrows the arteries in your arms or legs, you may develop circulation problems in your arms and legs called peripheral arterial disease. This can make you less sensitive to heat and cold, increasing your risk of burns or frostbite. In rare cases, poor circulation in your arms or legs can cause tissue death (gangrene).
* Aneurysms. Atherosclerosis can also cause aneurysms, a serious complication that can occur anywhere in your body. An aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of your artery. Pain and throbbing in the area of an aneurysm is a common symptom. If an ane The precedent answer explained everything. The way to prevent it is a low-fat diet, avoiding smoking an exercising.
By eliminating certain foods from your diet, by including others in the right amounts, and by the use of nutritional supplements, you can achieve at least a 50 per cent protection against heart attack.
A healthy diet does not mean starvation or tasteless foods. Yet a corrective diet does not mean either starvation or the grim necessity of eating unpalatable foods.
You do not have to lose energy鈥攇ood diet increases vigor. Neither does it mean a loss of energy or a sharp reduction in poundage, unless you are overweight, in which case the excess fat is melted off.
In fact, if you adhere to the low-fat, low-cholesterol diet recommended, you will feel better; have more vigor, and firmer muscles than before. If you have a faulty fat metabolism, the diet may substantially prolong your life. |
