ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Atherosclerosis comes from two Greek words meaning paste and hardness. It occurs when fatty substances accumulate in the inner lining, or walls, of an artery. A patch of this is called plaque.

Two things that can happen where plaque deposits develop include:

bleeding into the plaque and
formation of a blood clot on the outside of the plaque

Plaques can affect both large and medium sized arteries. Over time the inner lining of blood vessels can become thick and hard. A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood through an artery that leads to the heart muscle becomes blocked by plaque. If an artery carrying blood to a leg or arm becomes blocked, then numbness, pain, and even gangrene may develop. When an artery in the brain becomes blocked, a stroke results.

Because plaques contain cholesterol, people with high levels of cholesterol in their blood have a greater chance of plaque formation. However, other causes of this problem can include:

smoking
high blood pressure and
diabetes

Lowering blood cholesterol levels reduces deaths from heart attack and stroke. High blood cholesterol levels may be controlled by cholesterol-lowering drugs prescribed by a healthcare provider. Stopping smoking is an important change you can make to decrease your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Schedule routine checkups with your healthcare provider if you have:

a history of high cholesterol or
a family history of strokes or heart attacks

For more information, contact your local chapter of the American Heart Association or call (800) 242-8721.

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

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