What is Arteriosclerosis?

Arteriosclerosis is a non-inflammatory disease of the arteries, which can thicken and harden the arterial wall, lose elasticity, and narrow the lumen. Arteriosclerosis is a vascular disease that occurs with age. Its regularity usually occurs in adolescence, and it gets worse and develops in middle and old age. More men than women, the disease has gradually increased in China in recent years, becoming one of the leading causes of death among the elderly.

Arteriosclerosis is a non-inflammatory disease of the arteries, which can thicken and harden the arterial wall, lose elasticity, and narrow the lumen. Arteriosclerosis is a vascular disease that occurs with age. Its regularity usually occurs in adolescence, and it gets worse and develops in middle and old age. More men than women, the disease has gradually increased in China in recent years, becoming one of the leading causes of death among the elderly.

English name

arteriosclerosis

Visiting department

Cardiology

Multiple groups

Male; adolescents, worse in middle and old age

Common causes

Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, diabetes and family history

Common symptoms

Palpitations, chest pain, chest tightness, headache and dizziness

Causes of arteriosclerosis

Main reason

The most important causes of arteriosclerosis are hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and smoking. Others such as obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise, stress, old age, family history, and irritability can cause arteriosclerosis.

2. Nutrition causes

(1) Cholesterol A large intake of greasy foods and cholesterol-rich foods is the main cause of arteriosclerosis. Too much cholesterol in the blood is one of the important risk factors for coronary atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

(2) Fat diet In the daily diet, generally contains a certain amount of fat, if you usually like to eat fatty foods without paying attention to the intake of other minerals, it will cause excessive fat to deposit on the walls of blood vessels, and induce arteriosclerosis and Other cardiovascular diseases.

Clinical manifestations of arteriosclerosis

The manifestation of arteriosclerosis is mainly determined by the degree of vascular disease and the ischemia of the affected organs. For patients with early arteriosclerosis, most patients have almost no clinical symptoms. For patients with intermediate-term arteriosclerosis, most patients have more or less clinical symptoms such as palpitations, chest pain, chest tightness, headache, dizziness, cold limbs, limb weakness, lameness, decreased vision, decreased memory, insomnia, and more.

Arteriosclerosis

Laboratory inspection

The disease lacks sensitive and specific early laboratory diagnostic methods. Patients often have abnormal lipid metabolism, mainly manifested by increased total blood cholesterol, increased LDL, decreased HDL, increased blood triglycerides, increased blood -lipoprotein, and Lipoprotein B increased, apolipoprotein A decreased, lipoprotein () increased, and lipoprotein electrophoresis patterns were abnormal. More than 90% of patients showed type II or IV hyperlipoproteinemia.

2. Hemorheology

Often blood viscosity increases and platelet activity can increase.

3.X-ray inspection

In addition to the aforementioned manifestations of aortic atherosclerosis, selective or electronic computerized digital subtraction angiography can show coronary stenosis or aneurysm lesions caused by atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, cerebral arteries, renal arteries, mesenteric arteries, and extremities. , And the location, extent, and extent of the lesion help determine the indications for surgical treatment and the choice of surgical procedure.

4. Doppler ultrasound

It is helpful to judge the blood flow of limb arteries and renal arteries.

5. Intravascular ultrasound and angioscopy

It is a method of observing atherosclerotic lesions directly from the arterial cavity.

6. Radionuclide inspection

Help to understand the blood supply of heart, brain and kidney tissue.

7. Echocardiography

The characteristic changes shown in the electrocardiogram and its stress test can help diagnose coronary atherosclerosis.

8. Arteriosclerosis detection

It is advisable to use the simultaneous measurement of pwv and ABI values on the limbs to determine the presence or absence of arteriosclerosis, and then assist Doppler to know the location of the disease. Currently popular domestic arteriosclerosis instruments such as VBP-9 arteriosclerosis detector.

9. Other

Limbs electrical impedance maps, brain electrical impedance maps, and EEG brain X-rays, computerized X-rays, or magnetic resonance tomography can help determine the function of limbs and cerebral arteries and the pathological changes of brain tissue.

Arteriosclerosis diagnosis

Diagnosis can be made based on the etiology, clinical manifestations, and laboratory and imaging examinations.

Arteriosclerosis treatment

1. Dilate blood vessels.

2. Regulate blood lipids

On the basis of a reasonable diet and proper exercise, lipid-lowering drugs can be used when blood lipids are still higher than normal.

3. Anti-platelet adhesion and aggregation

Antiplatelet adhesion and aggregation drugs can prevent thrombosis and prevent the occurrence and development of vascular obstructive diseases.

4. Thrombolytic drugs and anticoagulants

For intraarterial thrombosis caused by stenosis or obstruction of the lumen, thrombolytic drugs and anticoagulants can be used, such as urokinase, recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator, heparin, and the like.