What Is Atherosclerosis?

WhatIsAtherosclerosis?

Atherosclerosis（ath-er-o-skler-O-sis）isadiseaseinwhichplaque（plak）buildsupontheinsidesofyourarteries. Arteriesarebloodvesselsthatcarryoxygen-richbloodtoyourheartandotherpartsofyourbody.

Plaqueismadeupoffat,cholesterol,calcium,andothersubstancesfoundintheblood. Overtime,plaquehardensandnarrowsyourarteries. Theflowofoxygen-richbloodtoyourorgansandotherpartsofyourbodyisreduced. Thiscanleadtoseriousproblems,includingheartattack,stroke,orevendeath.

Atherosclerosis

FigureAshowsanormalarterywithnormalbloodflow.FigureBshowsanarterywithplaquebuildup.

Overview

Atherosclerosiscanaffectanyarteryinthebody,includingarteriesintheheart,brain,arms,legs,andpelvis.Asaresult,differentdiseasesmaydevelopbasedonwhicharteriesareaffected.

Coronaryarterydisease（CAD）.Thisiswhenplaquebuildsupinthecoronaryarteries.Thesearteriessupplyoxygen-richbloodtoyourheart.Whenbloodflowtoyourheartisreducedorblocked,itcanleadtochestpainandheartattack.CADalsoiscalledheartdisease,andit'stheleadingcauseofdeathintheUnitedStates.Carotid（ka-ROT-id）arterydisease.Thishappenswhenplaquebuildsupinthecarotidarteries.Thesearteriessupplyoxygen-richbloodtoyourbrain.Whenbloodflowtoyourbrainisreducedorblocked,itcanleadtostroke.Peripheralarterialdisease（PAD）.Thisoccurswhenplaquebuildsupinthemajorarteriesthatsupplyoxygen-richbloodtothelegs,arms,andpelvis.Whenbloodflowtothesepartsofyourbodyisreducedorblocked,itcanleadtonumbness,pain,andsometimesdangerousinfections.

Somepeoplewithatherosclerosishavenosignsorsymptoms.Theymaynotbediagnoseduntilafteraheartattackorstroke.

Themaintreatmentforatherosclerosisislifestylechanges.Youalsomayneedmedicinesandmedicalprocedures.These,alongwithongoingmedicalcare,canhelpyouliveahealthierlife.

Thecauseofatherosclerosisisn’tknown.However,certainconditionsmayraiseyourchancesofdevelopingit.Theseconditionsareknownasriskfactors.Youcancontrolsomeriskfactors,suchaslackofphysicalactivity,smoking,andunhealthyeating.Othersyoucan’tcontrol,suchasageandfamilyhistoryofheartdisease.

Outlook

Bettertreatmentshavereducedthenumberofdeathsfromatherosclerosis-relateddiseases.Thesetreatmentsalsohaveimprovedthequalityoflifeforpeoplewiththesediseases.Still,thenumberofpeoplediagnosedwithatherosclerosisremainshigh.

Youmaybeabletopreventordelayatherosclerosisandthediseasesitcancause,mainlybymaintainingahealthylifestyle.This,alongwithongoingmedicalcare,canhelpyouavoidtheproblemsofatherosclerosisandlivealong,healthylife.

November2007