Are you as healthy and active as you should be? If you’re looking to improve your health, start the diet that your body is crying out for! The diet the Mediterraneans have known for hundreds of years. [Read More]
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The Role of Atherosclerosis in Heart Disease
Heart disease, or coronary heart disease, usually involves atherosclerosis and hypertension. When progression of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, those that wrap the heart, restricts the flow of blood in the arteries and damages the heart muscle, coronary heart disease develops.
What is Atherosclerosis? Atherosclerosis is also known as “hardening of the arteries”. It is a condition characterized by the buildup of plaque along the inner walls of the arteries, especially at branch points. The plaques narrow the inside of the artery and as a result, the blood cannot reach the tissue it supplies.
The first sign of atherosclerosis is soft fatty streaks visible along the walls of the arteries. Often these fatty streaks gradually enlarge and harden as they fill with fats, cholesterol, and minerals, especially calcium. Plaque stiffens the arteries and narrows the diameter. Although the plaques of atherosclerosis may obstruct the flow of blood through any blood vessel in the body, the coronary arteries are the ones most frequently affected.
Causes of Atherosclerosis Scientists believe that damage of tissues and inflammatory responses are among the main causes. Tissues may be damaged by:
·High cholesterol levels ·Hypertension ·Toxins from tobacco products ·Viral or bacterial infections
How does inflammation work? Inflammatory responses increase the permeability of the blood vessels and allow the cells of the immune system, macrophages, and LDL cholesterol particles to deposit in the blood vessel walls.
Free radicals produced during the inflammatory responses oxidize LDL cholesterol. Macrophages swallow it up, become enlarged and eventually become the cells that comprise plaque. Inflammatory responses also govern changes that allow minerals to harden plaque.
Blood Lipids and Atherosclerosis The blood cholesterol most clearly linked to atherosclerosis is LDL cholesterol. If excess LDL cholesterol remains after the body’s cells use the amount they need, then the remaining LDL becomes available for oxidation.
HDL also carries cholesterol in the blood, but it is believed it carries cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver the development of plaque While LDL may favor the development of plaque, high levels of HDL may protect against it.
Elevated triglycerides are also linked to atherosclerosis; they often appear together with elevated LDL, low HDL and other conditions that favor plaque development such as overweight, and diabetes.
Consequences of Atherosclerosis When progression of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries restricts blood flow and damages the heart muscle, heart disease or coronary heart disease develops. The person with heart disease may experience the following:
·Angina. Pain and pressure in and around the area of the heart, often radiating to the back, neck, and arms. It is caused by a lack of oxygen to an area of heart muscle.
·Heart attack. Sudden tissue death caused by blockages of vessels that feed the heart muscle. Also called myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest or acute heart failure.·Stroke. When atherosclerosis obstructs blood flow to the brain.
·Embolism. The obstruction of a blood vessel by an embolus (a blood clot), causing sudden tissue death. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and around the world. In the United States it claims 10,000 more lives in the United States than the next six leading causes of death combined. Take the steps to prevent atherosclerosis, to reverse it, or to control it, so you don’t become part of these awful statistics.
Scientific studies have associated the Mediterranean diet with a lower incidence of heart disease and strokes. To learn the ins-and-outs of the Authentic Mediterranean Diet and the Mediterranean Cuisine, check out my book; I wrote it explicitly to help you apply these Mediterranean principles into your ownlife and those of your loved ones.
the heart, restricts the flow of blood in the arteries and damages the heart muscle, 
available for oxidation. 