Atherosclerosis

When fatty deposits called plaque build up in the walls of your arteries over a period of time, it is called Atherosclosis. This buildup can start as early as childhood, due to their dietary habits and lack of exercise.

Children today eat fast foods more then any other time in history, they also spend less time in physical exercise. Parents need to watch their children’s eating habits more. They should also get the children involved in some sort of physical activity, even if it is just going outdoors to play.

A person can go for years without any symptoms of the plaque build up in there arteries. The fat will attach itself to the walls of your arteries and in time become calcified, causing a narrowing of the arteries. The narrowing in turn can cause a multitude of problems such as those listed below.

• Heart Failure
• The Aorta will become swollen and inhibit the flow of blood throughout the body. The swelling makes the blood vessel weak and can cause it to rupture.
• Blood clots can cause strokes, angina, pain, and heart attack due to lack of oxygen. Blood clots can also cut off the oxygen to the brain causing ischaemic strokes.
• Those with very high blood pressure are at risk of a heamorrhagic stroke, which can cause irreversible damage to the brain or in some cases death.
• When the arteries are extremely narrowed to the lower extremities such as your legs the result can be amputation.

Exactly how atherosclerosis begins or what causes it isn’t known, but some theories have been proposed. Many scientists think atherosclerosis starts because the innermost layer of the artery becomes damaged. This layer is called the endothelium. Three possible causes of damage to the arterial wall are:

• Elevated levels of cholesterol and triglyceride in the blood
• High blood pressure
• Cigarette smoke

Listed below you will find some of the sites that I referenced.

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=228

http://www.stronghealth.com/services/cardiology/Conditions/atherosclerosis.cfm