Symptoms Of Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis often shows no symptoms until flow within a blood vessel has become seriously compromised. Typical symptoms include chest pain when a coronary artery is involved, or leg pain when a leg artery is involved. Sometimes symptoms of atherosclerosis occur only with exertion. In some people, however, they may occur at rest.
Risk Factors Of Atherosclerosis
Males and people with a family history of premature cardiovascular heart disease have an increased risk of atherosclerosis. These risk factors can't be controlled. Research shows the benefits of reducing the controllable risk factors for atherosclerosis:
- High blood cholesterol (especially LDL or bad cholesterol over 100 mg/dL)
- Cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes mellitus
- Obesity
- Physical inactivity
Research suggests that inflammation in the circulating blood may play an important role in triggering heart attacks and strokes. Inflammation is the body's response to injury, and blood clotting is often part of that response. Blood clots, as described above, can slow down or stop blood flow in the arteries.
Other Names For Atherosclerosis
- Arteriosclerosis
- Hardening of the arteries
- Plaque buildup - arteries
How It Begins
Atherosclerosis is a slow, complex disease that typically starts in childhood and often progresses when people grow older. In some people it progresses rapidly, even in their third decade. Many scientists think it begins with damage to the innermost layer of the artery. This layer is called the endothelium. Damage to the arterial wall can be caused by :
- elevated levels of cholesterol and triglyceride in the blood
- high blood pressure.
- tobacco smoke
- diabetes
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