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The term arteriosclerosis is a basic one for several different diseases that create a situation where the artery walls become less elastic and thicker. Of these diseases the most common is atherosclerosis which occurs when fatty materials tend to accumulate beneath the inner lining of an arterial wall. People who have high blood pressure, are cigarette smokers, diabetics and have levels of cholesterol that are high are at a greater risk of developing this disease. Other factors may include obesity, advancing age and lack of exercise. Prevention of this disease can be aided by eliminating the controllable risk factors. When this disease becomes serious enough to cause complications it can lead to heart attacks, kidney failure, abnormal heart rhythms, stroke, obstructed peripheral arteries, heart failure and angina.
When atherosclerosis begins, white blood cells that are called monocytes will migrate from the blood stream and into the wall of the artery. They are then transformed into cells that will accumulate fatty materials and in time form a patchy thickening called plaque. This plaque builds in the inner lining of the artery filling each area with a soft cheese like substance. These areas of thickening are called atheroma and they may be scattered through out the large and medium arteries but in most cases they are found where the arteries branch off. It is believed that this is because these areas have constant turbulence which injures the arterial walls. Most of the thickening is created by fatty materials such as cholesterol, connective tissue cells and smooth muscles cells. Since arteries that are affected with atherosclerosis tend to loose their elasticity, the antheromas will continue to grow narrowing the arteries even more. When this occurs the atheromas will collect calcium deposits becoming brittle with time. This may lead to a rupture of the atheroma where the fatty contents are spilled out to trigger the formation of a blood clot or what is known as thrombus. This may further narrow the artery or create an embolism.
In most cases atherosclerosis does not produce symptoms until an artery is severely narrowed or a sudden obstruction occurs. Then the symptoms will depend on where the disease has developed. In this part of the body pain or cramps may occur during exercise. When this occurs it is because the area of the body that is affected is not receiving enough blood and oxygen. Examples of this would be chest pain during exercise or leg cramps while walking. In most cases these symptoms tend to develop slowly as the artery narrows but if an obstruction occurs such as a blood clot lodged in an artery, the symptoms may appear suddenly.
Other risk factors with atherosclerosis might include a relative who has developed the disease at a young age. In most cases men are at a greater risk than women even though after menopause a womans risk will increase. Inherited diseases such as homocystinuria which causes an extensive formation of atheroma at a young age are at a higher risk of developing this disease. Even though this disease affects many different arteries in the body, it does not affect the coronary arteries. On the other hand, inherited diseases such as familial hypercholesterolemia which creates very high levels of blood cholesterol will cause atheromas to occur mainly in the coronary arteries.
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