Causes and risks of atherosclerosis

It's no secret that obesity, overweight, smoking and stress shorten a person's life, and blame at all the atherosclerotic plaques that appear as a result of an incorrect lifestyle.

Atherosclerosis is a disease that affects the blood vessels. Its essence lies in the fact that on the internal wall of the arteries there appear peculiar growths, which increase with time and clog the lumen of the vessels. Promotion of blood through such "channels" is difficult, and in a critical situation it can completely stop, then there will be an infarction (ischemia) of the organ or part of the body that receives blood on this vessel. A situation may be catastrophic when there is atherosclerosis of the extremities, and part of the thrombus breaks away and clogs the important arteries, getting with the blood flow in the heart, lungs or brain. Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease, it affects the entire body, disrupting the delivery of oxygen to the tissues.

In order for a plaque to appear inside the vessel, it takes a long time. The human body is designed in such a way that inside it there are not only factors contributing to the deposition of fats, but also substances aimed at the destruction of these formations. In fact, arteriosclerosis arises when there is a disequilibrium between these two counterweight systems.

All causes and risks of atherosclerosis can be divided into 3 groups, among them predisposing factors contributing, as well as provoking. Let us dwell in detail on each group.

Predisposing causes and risks of atherosclerosis are factors that do not depend on us:

1. Age over 35 years.
2. Male. Before hormonal changes in the menopause, estrogens - sex hormones to some extent protect women from atherosclerosis. For this reason, men have a disease earlier and more often.
3. Genetic predisposition. It is noticed that people with atherosclerosis have relatives with diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
4. Psychological type of personality. It is proved that people with a labile psyche (emotionally unstable) suffer from atherosclerosis more often.

The contributing causes and risks of atherosclerosis can be controlled to some extent by humans:

1. Arterial hypertension not only speeds up the formation of plaques, but also worsens the course of the disease caused by atherosclerosis.
2. Disorders of lipid metabolism lead to the deposition of "excess" cholesterol on the damaged inner wall of the vessel, which becomes the basis for further "sticking" of the destroyed blood cells and fibrin strands. In fact, this is a simplified mechanism of plaque formation.
3. Smoking. The glueing of platelets and the deterioration of the blood flow occurs under the influence of nicotine.
4. Obesity increases the load on the heart muscle and worsens the blood properties, this factor is often not taken seriously, but in vain.
5. Disturbances of metabolism (carbohydrates) are observed in diabetes mellitus. This disease affects the vascular wall, creating favorable conditions for the appearance of blood clots.
6. A sedentary lifestyle combined with other factors is one of the main enemies of blood vessels.

The provoking causes and risks of atherosclerosis are, first of all, smoking and stress. They have already been spoken of as facilitators. However, in combination with the increase in cholesterol, these two factors are the main "triggers" in the process of sclerotic plaque formation.

Due to a wide variety of reasons, treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis become a long and painstaking process. Of course, there is a drug treatment, but the cost is great, because you need to be treated for a long time. It is worth knowing that the pill will not have its entire positive effect, unless other conditions are met - diet and moderate physical activity.

Of course, a person can not change his biological age or sex, but he can change his way of life for the better.