Understanding more about atherosclerosis

Our arteries become damaged over the years by a process called ‘atherosclerosis’. This is the build up of fatty plaques in the arteries, making them seem older than they really are. Atherosclerosis is the main underlying cause of cardiovascular disease.

Did You Know?

Cardiovascular disease is the UK’s number one killer
More than one in three people die from cardiovascular disease
32% of men and 24% of women die before the age of 75 of cardiovascular disease

How do risk factors contribute to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular health?

There are a number of risk factors that can affect the health of our hearts, including:·

Lack of exercise
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Family history of heart disease
Age

Some things we can’t change –like our family history or our age. However, we can all take steps to reduce our risk of a heart attack or a stroke – by improving the health of our arteries

1. There are two main types of cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), known as the bad cholesterol that can clog up your arteries and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), called good cholesterol because it is believed to help remove bad cholesterol from the body.

Too much bad cholesterol can be bad news. A healthy diet can help lower bad cholesterol and exercise can raise good cholesterol

2. If there is any damage to the lining of the artery caused by, for example, high blood pressure, particles of LDL cholesterol are more likely to enter the lining of our artery wall.

High blood pressure, which can be influenced by too much salt in the diet, stress or obesity can weaken the artery wall. Smoking can also damage the artery wall.

3.When LDL cholesterol, enters the weakened artery wall it changes and can lead to inflammation.

Over time, this creates ‘a fatty deposit’ known as an ‘arterial plaque’ by a process called atherosclerosis, a sort of ‘furring up of the arteries’.

4. A stable plaque can continue to grow, slowly reducing blood flow over time, leading to the chest pain of angina, but does not necessarily completely block the artery.