Coronary heart disease (CHD) is caused by atherosclerosis, a slow, progressive, hardening and narrowing of the artery by deposits of fat, cholesterol, and other substances followed by scarring and deposits of calcium or calcification.
It is common cause of cardiovascular disease in the United States. The substance block and narrow the coronary vessels in a way that reduces blood flow to the myocardium.
When serious, atherosclerosis may result in angina pectoris or myocardial infarction (heart attack).
Gross anatomy identifies arthrosclerosis as a focal thickening of the wall of medium-sized and large arteries. In its advanced stages, it consists of a central core of yellowish toothpaste-like gruel surrounded by a leathery capsule - the fibrous cap.
Atherosclerosis of the cerebral arteries leading to the brain can cause a stroke.
Atherosclerosis, is one type of arteriosclerosis, which literally means ‘hardening the arteries’.
Arteriosclerosis is category of disease that involves hardening of the arteries. Arterio indicates arteries; sclerosis indicates a loss of elasticity or flexibility.
Atherosclerosis involves a repetition inflammatory response to injury of the artery wall and subsequent alteration in the structural and biochemical properties of the arterial walls. It is thought to began as fatty streaks of lipids that deposited in the intima of the arterial wall.
Many outcomes of atherosclerosis are quite bad. Atherosclerosis contributes to one half of deaths in North America and is number one killer worldwide.
It is commoner in older age groups, but in those with diabetes disorders of fat metabolism and high blood pressure, its appearance may be earlier.
Atherosclerosis
