The Benefits Of Artery Screening

Plaque that gathers on the inner walls of your arteries is made from a number of different substances that circulate in your blood. This includes cellular waste, cholesterol, fat, and calcium, as well as fibrin, which is a material involved in blood clotting. In response to the build-up of plaque, cells in your artery walls will multiply, secreting additional substances that can make the state of your clogged arteries even worse.

A condition called atherosclerosis can occur as these plaque deposits grow. This causes your arteries to harden and narrow. It’s unclear for sure what causes this. However, the process seems to result from damage to the arterial wall lining. There are a number of reasons why this may occur, yet some of the most common are as follows:

• Diabetes or elevated circulating blood sugar – This is a major culprit. Even individuals that have high sugar levels, which are not yet at a diabetic level, for example, those seen in metabolic syndrome, have heightened risk of plaque formation.
• Cigarette smoke – Smoke from cigarettes seems to increase the rate of atherosclerosis in the arteries of the aorta, legs, and heart. The aorta is the biggest artery in the body.
• High blood pressure – If you have high blood pressure, this will increase the rate at which there is a build-up or arterial plaque. This will fasten up the hardening of clogged arteries.
• Low ‘good’ cholesterol and high ‘bad’ cholesterol – Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or high levels of bad cholesterol are huge contributors to arterial plaque formation. However, this does not tell the complete story. All people have high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or ‘good’ cholesterol in circulation in their blood. It is believed that HDL will eradicate some of the bad cholesterol from the plaque in clogged arteries, transporting it back to the liver, where it is eliminated.

There are a number of different dangers that are associated with clogged arteries. One of these is carotid artery disease, which we will discuss in more depth in the next section. Aside from this, other risks include peripheral artery disease and coronary artery disease. The former occurs when plaque builds up in the blood vessels that are responsible for carrying blood to your legs. This can result in a reduction in the amount of oxygen being delivered. The reduced amount of blood flow can result in you experiencing a serious infection in your feet and legs, as well as numbness and pain. Coronary artery disease happens when there is the accumulation of plaque in the arteries that carry blood to your heart. This causes heart disease or coronary artery disease. This can result in shortness of breath or chest pain. This is a big cause of heart attacks.