Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis are sometimes used interchangeably, but there are fundamental differences between the two terms. Here’s the difference:
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, sometimes restricting blood flow to organs and tissues. Healthy arteries are flexible and elastic, but over time, the walls of the arteries can harden, leading to a condition called hardening of the arteries.
While atherosclerosis is a specific type of arteriosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fat, cholesterol, and other substances in and on the walls of arteries. This buildup is called plaque. Plaque can cause arteries to narrow, blocking blood flow. Plaque can also rupture, causing blood clots.
Although atherosclerosis is often thought of as a heart problem, it can affect arteries anywhere in the body. Atherosclerosis is treatable, and healthy lifestyle habits can help prevent it.
Symptoms of Arteriosclerosis
Mild atherosclerosis usually has no symptoms. You usually won’t experience symptoms of atherosclerosis until your arteries become so narrowed or blocked that they can’t supply enough blood to your organs and tissues. Sometimes a blood clot completely blocks blood flow, or it can even break off and trigger a heart attack or stroke.
Symptoms of moderate to severe atherosclerosis depend on which arteries are affected. For example:
- If you have atherosclerosis in your heart arteries, you may have symptoms, such as chest pain or pressure (angina).
- If you have atherosclerosis in the arteries leading to your brain, you may have signs and symptoms such as sudden numbness or weakness in an arm or leg, difficulty speaking or slurred speech, temporary loss of vision in one eye, or drooping muscles in your face. This indicates a transient ischemic attack, which, if left untreated, can progress to a stroke.
- If you have atherosclerosis in the arteries in your arms and legs, you may have signs or symptoms of peripheral artery disease, such as leg pain when walking (claudication) or low blood pressure in the affected limb. If you have atherosclerosis in the arteries leading to your kidneys, you may have high blood pressure or kidney failure.
Causes of Arteriosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a slowly progressive disease that may begin in childhood. Although the exact cause is unknown, atherosclerosis may begin with damage or injury to the inner lining of the arteries. This damage may be caused by:
- High blood pressure;
- High cholesterol;
- High triglycerides, a type of fat (lipid) in the blood;
- Smoking and other sources of tobacco;
- Insulin resistance, obesity or diabetes;
- Inflammation from an unknown cause or from diseases such as arthritis, lupus, psoriasis or inflammatory bowel disease;
- Once the inner wall of an artery is damaged, blood cells and other substances often clump together at the site of injury and accumulate in the inner lining of the artery.
Over time, fatty deposits (plaques) made of cholesterol and other cellular products also build up at the site of injury and harden, narrowing the artery. Organs and tissues connected to the blocked artery then don’t get enough blood to function properly. Eventually, pieces of the fatty deposits can break off and enter the bloodstream.
In addition, the smooth lining of the plaque can rupture, releasing cholesterol and other substances into the bloodstream. This can cause a blood clot, which can block blood flow to a part of the body, as happens when a blocked blood flow to the heart causes a heart attack. Blood clots can also travel to other parts of the body, blocking blood flow to other organs.
Risk Factors for Arteriosclerosis
There are several risk factors for atherosclerosis, including:
- High cholesterol and triglyceride levels;
- High blood pressure;
- Smoke;
- Type 1 diabetes;
- Obesity;
- Physical inactivity;
- Diet high in saturated fat.
Diagnosis of Arteriosclerosis
Your doctor will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your personal and family medical history. You may also be referred to a heart specialist (cardiologist). Your doctor may hear a whooshing sound (bruit) when listening to your arteries with a stethoscope.
Depending on the results of the physical exam, your doctor may suggest one or more tests, including:
- Blood Tests. Your doctor will order blood tests to check your blood sugar and cholesterol levels. High blood sugar and cholesterol levels increase your risk of atherosclerosis. A C-reactive protein (CRP) test may also be done to check for a protein associated with inflammation of the arteries.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG). This simple, painless test records the electrical signals in the heart.
- Exercise Stress Test. If your signs and symptoms occur most often during exercise, your doctor may recommend this test. You’ll walk on a treadmill or ride a stationary bike while hooked up to an EKG. Because exercise makes your heart pump harder and faster than it does during most everyday activities, an exercise stress test can reveal problems in your heart that might otherwise be missed. If you can’t exercise, you may be given medication that mimics the effects of exercise on your heart.
- Echocardiogram. This test uses sound waves to show how well blood moves as the heart beats and through the arteries. It is sometimes combined with an exercise stress test.
- Doppler ultrasound. Your doctor may use a special ultrasound device (Doppler ultrasound) to measure blood pressure at various points along your arm or leg. These measurements can help your doctor determine the extent of the blockage, as well as the speed of blood flow in the arteries.
- Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI). This test can tell if you have atherosclerosis in the arteries in your legs and feet. During an ABI test, your doctor will compare the blood pressure in your ankle with the blood pressure in your arm. An abnormal difference may be a sign of peripheral vascular disease, which is usually caused by atherosclerosis.
- Cardiac Catheterization and Angiogram. This test can show whether the coronary arteries are narrowed or blocked. During this procedure, your doctor inserts a thin, flexible tube (catheter) into your blood vessels and into your heart. Dye flows through the catheter. As the dye fills your arteries, they become visible on X-ray, revealing areas of blockage.
- Coronary Calcium Scan. Also called a heart scan, this common test uses computerized tomography (CT) imaging to create detailed images of the heart. It can show calcium deposits in the walls of arteries. The test results are given as a score. When calcium is present, the higher the score, the higher the risk of heart disease.
- Other Imaging Tests. Your doctor may also use magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) or positron emission tomography (PET) to study the condition of your arteries. These tests can show hardening and narrowing of the large arteries, as well as aneurysms.
Complications of Arteriosclerosis
Complications of atherosclerosis depend on which arteries are blocked. For example:
- Coronary Artery Disease. When atherosclerosis narrows the arteries near your heart, you can develop coronary artery disease, which can lead to chest pain (angina), heart attack, or heart failure.
- Carotid Artery Disease. When atherosclerosis narrows the arteries near your brain, you can develop carotid artery disease, which can lead to a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke.
- Peripheral Artery Disease. When atherosclerosis narrows the arteries in your arms or legs, you may develop circulation problems in your arms and legs called peripheral artery disease. This can make you less sensitive to heat and cold, increasing your risk of burns or frostbite. In rare cases, poor circulation in your arms or legs can lead to tissue death (gangrene).
- Aneurysm. Atherosclerosis can also lead to aneurysm, a serious complication that can occur anywhere in the body. An aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of an artery.
Most people with aneurysms have no symptoms. Pain and throbbing in the area of the aneurysm may occur and is a medical emergency. If the aneurysm ruptures, you may face life-threatening internal bleeding. While this is usually a sudden, catastrophic event, a slow leak is possible. If a blood clot inside the aneurysm breaks loose, it may block an artery at some distant point.
Chronic Kidney Disease. Atherosclerosis can cause the arteries leading to the kidneys to narrow, preventing oxygenated blood from reaching them. Over time, this can affect kidney function, preventing waste from leaving the body.
Arteriosclerosis Treatment
Lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy diet and exercising, are the first line of treatment for atherosclerosis and may be all you need to treat atherosclerosis. But sometimes, medication or surgery may be needed.
- Drugs
Many different medications are available to slow or even reverse the effects of atherosclerosis. Here are some of the medications used to treat atherosclerosis:
- Statins and Other Cholesterol Medications. They can aggressively lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which can slow, stop, or even reverse the buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries. Statins are usually prescribed to lower cholesterol, improve artery health, and prevent atherosclerosis. There are many other types of cholesterol-lowering medications. Another common type is a cholesterol absorption inhibitor called ezetimibe (Zetia). You may need more than one type of cholesterol medication.
- Blood Thinners. Your doctor may prescribe blood-thinning medications, such as aspirin, to reduce the risk that platelets will clump together in narrowed arteries, forming a blood clot and causing further blockage.
- Blood Pressure Medications. Medications to lower blood pressure do not help reverse atherosclerosis, but instead prevent or treat complications associated with the disease. For example, certain blood pressure medications can help reduce the risk of heart attack.
- Other Medications. Your doctor may prescribe other medications to control health conditions that increase your risk of atherosclerosis, such as diabetes. And, specific medications to treat symptoms of atherosclerosis, such as leg pain during exercise, may be prescribed.
- Surgery or Other Procedures
Sometimes more aggressive treatment is needed to treat atherosclerosis. If you have severe symptoms or blockages, your doctor may recommend one of the following surgical procedures:
- Angioplasty and Stent Placement. This procedure, also called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), helps open blocked or clogged arteries. The doctor inserts a catheter into the diseased artery. A second catheter with a deflated balloon on the tip is passed through the first catheter to the blockage. The doctor inflates the balloon, widening the artery. A mesh tube (stent) is usually left in the artery to help open it.
- Endarterectomy. Sometimes, plaque buildup must be surgically removed from the wall of a narrowed artery. When the procedure is performed on an artery in the neck (the carotid artery), it is called a carotid endarterectomy.
- Fibrinolytic Therapy. If you have an artery blocked by a blood clot, your doctor may use a clot-dissolving medication to break it up.
- Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery. During this type of open-heart surgery, doctors take a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body to create a bypass around the blocked artery, redirecting blood flow. Sometimes the bypass is a graft made of synthetic material.
Prevention of Arteriosclerosis
The same healthy lifestyle changes recommended to treat atherosclerosis also help prevent it. These include:
- Quit smoking;
- Eat healthy foods;
- Exercise regularly;
- Maintain a healthy weight;
- Check and maintain healthy blood pressure;
- Check and maintain healthy cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Remember to take changes one step at a time, and remember what lifestyle changes you can manage in the long term.
When to See a Doctor?
If your family or relatives experience any of the signs or symptoms mentioned above or have any questions, discuss them with your doctor.