Atherosclerosis
What Are Arteriosclerosis and Atherosclerosis?
Arteriosclerosis denotes a general term that describes a group of diseases where the wall of an artery becomes thicker and less elastic. Also known as "hardening of the arteries", arteriosclerosis causes coronary artery disease.
Several types of arteriosclerosis exist, but atherosclerosis is the most common type. Atherosclerosis refers to hardening of atheromas, the fatty deposits called plaque within arteries. This disease can affect the medium-sized and larger arteries of major organs including the brain, heart, and kidneys. It also can affect the legs.
As a progressive disease, atherosclerosis worsens over time.
What Causes Atherosclerosis?
Over time, cholesterol, fats, blood platelets, calcium, and cellular debris can get stuck on the artery walls. This build-up, called plaque, narrows the diameter of the artery, making it impossible for as much blood to flow through. The result? Less oxygen can reach areas of the body that lay beyond the plaque.
Several risk factors exist for hardening of the arteries. However, you can avoid many of them through lifestyle changes.
Risk Factors You Can Change:
- Diabetes (Type 2)
- High LDL (bad) cholesterol level
- Low HDL (good) cholesterol level (High HDL decreases the risk)
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- Lack of exercise
- Obesity
- High homocystein levels in the blood
Risk Factors You Can't Change
- Diabetes (Type 1)
- Insulin resistance (a condition where the body doesn't use insulin efficiently, thus raising blood sugar levels)
- Gender (males face an increased risk)
- Family history of early onset atherosclerosis
- Familial hypercholesterolemia (genetic high cholesterol)
- Age (older people face an increased risk)
How Do You Know If You Have Atherosclerosis?
Symptoms often don't occur until plaque blocks more than 70 percent of the artery, at which point you might suffer a heart attack (link to heart attack section of coronary artery file) or stroke (link to peripheral arterial disease). Prior to this, you might notice the first, subtle symptom of atherosclerosis - pain or cramps during exercise. A lack of oxygen in the blood flow to the chest or legs could cause pain or cramps.
If your doctor thinks you are high risk, he or she may suggest that you get an angiography or an ultrasound test. An angiography uses dye injected into the bloodstream to help measure how much blood flows through the artery. (Cardiac catheterization is a type of angiography.) An ultrasound uses sound waves, a microphone, and a monitor to record the size and shape of your arteries, pinpointing narrow arteries that might need treatment.
How Can You Prevent Atherosclerosis?
Keeping blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol all within normal ranges can go a long way toward reducing the severity of complications.
Many complications of diabetes result from lifestyle choices, so making some positive changes can reduce your risk:
- Eat a heart-healthy diet
- Exercise
- Lose weight
- Quit smoking
How Can You Treat Atherosclerosis?
Because you rarely feel symptoms of atherosclerosis before leg pain, stroke, or a heart attack, treatment often consists of managing the resulting complication of the disease.
Prior to that treatment, your healthcare team might suggest lifestyle changes to avoid the complications that atherosclerosis can cause.
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Thursday
November 20, 2008
Tip of the Day
Regular exercise increases the number of insulin receptor sites on cells, making the body more sensitive to insulin.
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