ATHEROSCLEROSIS

What is atherosclerosis?

Atherosclerosis (from the Greek ‘Athera’ – gruel or paste and ‘sclerosis’ – hardness) is a chronic disease in which the inner wall of the arteries deposited cholesterol and other fats in the form of deposits and plaques and walls themselves are compacted and lose their elasticity. This leads to a narrowing of the lumen of the artery, and hence to the difficulty of blood flow.

So, atherosclerosis is a medical term for the process of thickening and hardening of arteries. By the way for the elderly people hardening of arteries is a norm.

So what is happening in the vessels? Plaque or plaques block the blood stream (completely or partially) in the artery. And now two variants are possible: formation of a blood clot or bleeding (hemorrhage). If at least something of this happens and corks the artery, it all ends up in a heart attack or a stroke.

Both medium-sized and large arteries can undergo atherosclerosis. The place of appearance of the plaque is indefinite and differs from person to person. It doesn’t start from nowhere, it is a long and progressing disease. Actually, it can take roots from the childhood even! It will eat you up when you’re thirty. Or it will kill slowly, bite by bite, till you are sixty or more.