Heart Disease Overview

Arteriosclerosis, characterized by the hardening of arteries, encompasses a spectrum of diseases that impair arterial function, predominantly culminating in coronary artery diseases. It manifests across arteries of varying sizes and layers within the arterial walls, posing a significant threat to cardiovascular health.

Primarily accountable for the majority of fatalities attributed to heart attacks, arteriosclerosis initiates with cellular damage within the heart's arteries, paving the way for the development of arterial plaque—a composite of fibrous tissue and lipids. This plaque progressively expands, impeding or obstructing the arterial lumen, thereby curtailing blood flow.

In the event of coronary artery obstruction, crucial for delivering oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle, complete cessation of blood flow may precipitate a myocardial infarction, causing irreparable harm to cardiac tissue.

Arteriosclerosis, omnipresent among senior citizens, stands as the foremost chronic condition in the United States, emerging as the leading cause of mortality, particularly affecting individuals aged 40 to 70.

The ramifications of arteriosclerosis extend beyond mere hardening of arteries, permeating the fabric of cardiovascular health, warranting comprehensive preventive strategies and therapeutic interventions to mitigate its deleterious impact and curb its devastating toll on public health.
Heart Disease Overview

Risk factors of atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the result of hyperlipidemia and lipid oxidation and has always been a major cause of mortality in developed countries. Atherosclerosis is a specific type of arteriosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fats, cholesterol, and other substances in and on the artery walls. This buildup is called plaque. Plaque is made up of deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium, and fibrin. The plaque can cause arteries to narrow, blocking blood flow.

Risk factors of atherosclerosis
*Older age
*A family history of early heart disease
*An unhealthy diet - diet high in saturated or trans fats, low in fruits and vegetables
*Stress
*Type 1 diabetes
*Insulin resistance
*High blood pressure - the most important risk factor for stroke
*High cholesterol and triglyceride levels
*High levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation
*Physical inactivity
*Obesity
*Sleep apnea
*Smoking and other tobacco use
*Alcohol

Reducing the risk factors for atherosclerosis lowers the risk of stroke. About 700,000 strokes occur each year in the U.S. One in five people will have a stroke in their lifetime.
Risk factors of atherosclerosis

Aetiology of arteriosclerosis

A thin layer of endothelium cells forms a lining that keeps the blood smoothly to flow. When the endothecium cells become damaged arteriosclerosis happened. Many factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, or hypercholesterolaemia can cause the damage.

Arteriosclerosis occurs when the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients from the heart to the rest of the body (arteries) become thick and stiff. Perhaps the most important form of arteriosclerosis is coronary heart disease. This leads to narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the heart muscle, or to clots within their lumen – both of which block circulation.

Healthy arteries are flexible and elastic, but over time, the walls in arteries can harden, a condition commonly called hardening of the arteries. Hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis), involving principally the vessels of the brain, heart and kidneys, is a major cause of disability or death.

Atherosclerosis a specific type of arteriosclerosis is a disease of the arterial vasculature that is characterized by the disrupted balance and abnormal accumulation of lipids, inflammatory cells, matrix deposits and smooth muscle cell proliferation in and on the artery walls (plaque), which can restrict blood flow.

Arteriosclerosis in man develops earlier and more frequently in individuals with high blood cholesterol levels than in those with normal blood cholesterol. Arteriosclerosis usually affects older people, but it can start to develop during adolescence.

Aetiology of arteriosclerosis

Arteriosclerosis and heart disease

What is arteriosclerosis? Arteriosclerosis is literally means hardening of the arteries, includes all kinds of diseases that damage the arteries and eventfully lead to coronary artery diseases. It involving arteries of various sizes and different layers of the arterial walls.

Arteriosclerosis is responsible for most of the deaths resulting from heart attacks.

The arterials diseases begins with damage to cells of the heart’s arteries and lead to the formation of a fibrous, fatty deposit called plaque.

The arterial plaque slowly increases in size until eventually the amount of blood flowing through the artery is greatly reduced or completely blocked.

If the coronary arteries that carry oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle become obstructed , the flow of blood is cut off completely and a heart attack, or myocardial infarction, can occur resulting damage to the heart muscle.

Arteriosclerosis is the most prevalent chronic among senior citizens and the number one killer in the United States. It mostly affects those between the ages of 40 to 70.
Arteriosclerosis and heart disease

Atherosclerosis

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