How To Get Rid Of Arteriosclerosis

How To Get Rid Of Arteriosclerosis

How To Get Rid Of Arteriosclerosis

The arteries are the blood vessels from which blood flows away from the heart. They also carry the nutrients and oxygen from your heart to the rest of the body. Normally, healthy arteries are elastic and flexible, able to handle the blood pressure that flows through them. Over time, however, there are factors that change this. For example, too much pressure can make the walls of your arteries thick and stiff. Fats can also build up inside the walls of the arteries, then becomes hardened by calcification and fibrous tissue. The result is a reduction or restriction of blood flow to the different organs and tissues of your body. When this happens, you will have what is called arteriosclerosis.

Arteriosclerosis: The Hardening of the Arteries

The hardening of the arteries is a progressive condition. It can begin as early as childhood. For people with a familial history of high cholesterol, arteriosclerosis may start to rapidly worsen in their early 20s, becoming more and more severe in the 40s and 50s. The 2004 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update by the American heart Association states that arteriosclerosis accounts for nearly 75% of all heart-related deaths in the United States.

Arteriosclerosis have several types but the most common (and which is often used interchangeably with the term) is atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the build up of fats in the artery walls, which restrict the flow of blood. Sometimes, these fat buildup bursts, causing blood clot. While most cases often involve heart arteries, atherosclerosis can occur in any artery of the body. If the atherosclerosis affects the arteries of the heart, the person can develop heart attack, angina, or abnormal cardiac rhythms. When it's the arteries of the brain that are affected, the person is in danger of developing a stroke, or an actual death of brain tissue.

The Causes of Arteriosclerosis

There is no exact cause why arteries would harden. Researchers suspect that arteriosclerosis starts with damage or injury in the interior layer of the artery. There are many ways an artery may be damaged. It could be due to high blood pressure, nicotine, high cholesterol, or even a result of another disease such as diabetes. Whatever the cause, once there is damage to the artery, blood cells called platelets converge on the injury to try and repair the artery, leading to an inflammation. As time goes on, fatty deposits and cholesterol also pile up at the injury site and they harden, leading to a narrowing of the passageway. Arteriosclerosis then happens. Further complications happen when the fatty deposits rupture and pieces fall off to be carried by the bloodstream. Blood clots may then form and damage the organs that the blood flows through, leading to conditions such as heart attacks.

There are also risk factors that encourage or increase the risk of getting arteriosclerosis. These factors can be classified as those that can be changed and those that cannot. Under those that cannot be changed, you have:

• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• obesity
• lack of exercise
• cigarette smoking
• unhealthy diet

The factors that cannot be changed includes:

• age
• gender (women are generally at a lesser risk to get arteriosclerosis, at least until menopausal stage)
• genetics
• race (African-Americans have a bigger degree of high blood pressure)

Symptoms of Arteriosclerosis

Arteriosclerosis symptoms usually do not manifest themselves until the artery has become too narrow that it starts letting out signs. By then, it's usually serious. Sometimes, in the case of immediate blocking, you will not feel any untoward symptoms but just suddenly get heart attack or stroke, depending on where the arteriosclerosis is.

Arteriosclerosis symptoms depend on which arteries are affected:

• If it's the heart arteries that are affected, you will have symptoms similar to a heart attack, including chest pains and angina.
• If it's the arteries leading to the brain, you will have numbness or weakness in your motor skills, difficulty is speaking or having slurred speech, or drooping facial muscles.
• If it's the arteries in your arms or legs, you will have symptoms of peripheral arterial disease, such as leg pains every time you walk.

Arteriosclerosis can sometimes cause erectile dysfunction in men.

Getting Rid of Arteriosclerosis

The main goal of treating arteriosclerosis is to prevent the formation of fatty deposits or plaque in your arteries. To do this, there are several steps you can take:

Change your diet; eat healthy. Take out bad cholesterol and fats from your diet. Fats you should limit are the saturated fats that increase your overall cholesterol level. These are fats that come from animals, such as meat, whole-milk dairies, poultry skin and egg yolks. There are also fats called trans fats that are found in processed foods and they are worse than saturated fats.Increase consumption of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables instead.

Exercise. Exercise is one of the best ways to improve your body's blood circulation. It also decreases the risk of heart-related diseases as well as other diseases that may give you arteriosclerosis.

Watch your weight. Overweight or obese people are more likely to develop arteriosclerosis than those who are not. They are also more prone to heart disease, something that is connected to arteriosclerosis. If you're overweight, lose the excess pounds through diet and exercise.

Quit smoking. Nicotine irritates the linings of the arteries, leading to injuries and build up. Kick the smoking habit before it's too late.

Try medications for arteriosclerosis. Some medications can slow or even reverse the effects of arteriosclerosis. Some examples of these medications include anticoagulants, blood pressure medications, anti-platelet medications, and cholesterol medications.

Arteriosclerosis can lead to very serious diseases, some of which are fatal. Improve your lifestyle and eating habits and you should be able to lessen your risk of getting one.

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