Plaque is a fatty material made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other particles found in the blood. Scar tissue and calcium from vessel injury can also add to the plaque buildup. The process leading to this may begin in childhood. It takes decades before it causes serious health problems.
A piece of plaque can break off and be carried by the bloodstream until it gets stuck. Over time, plaque hardens and narrows the arteries. The plaque makes arteries less flexible, a condition called atherosclerosis or “hardening of the arteries.”
Early observations that cholesterol is a key component of arterial plaques gave rise to the cholesterol hypothesis for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
This process can happen to blood vessels anywhere in the body, including those of the heart, which are called the coronary arteries. If the coronary arteries become partly blocked by plaque, then the blood may not be able to bring enough oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle. This can cause chest pain, or angina. If an artery supplying oxygen to the extremities (often the legs) is blocked, gangrene, or tissue death, can result.
There are often no signs or symptoms of high blood cholesterol. A high level of cholesterol in the blood is due to abnormal levels of lipoproteins. These are the particles that carry cholesterol in the bloodstream. This may be related to:
• Diet
• Weight
• Lack of physical activity
• Genetic factors and
• Presence of other diseases (diabetes, underactive thyroid, etc.)
Smoking makes fatty deposits more likely to form, and it accelerates the growth of plaque.
What is plaque?
