Atherosclerosis: Symptoms and Cures

Symptoms Atherosclerosis

For further information: Atherosclerosis symptoms

Small coronary lesions are detectable in the arteries of the great majority of people. However, only in a small percentage of cases these lesions evolve into a severe form up to onset with more or less intense symptoms.

As atheromas grow in number and volume, the chances of vascular narrowing and plaque lesions multiply. When the obstacle to blood flow becomes important, some organs are deprived of sufficient blood supply. The lack of oxygen gives rise to signals of distress that can involve the lower limbs (lameness or intermittent claudication, cramps or paralysis of the muscles), the brain (mental confusion, headache) or the heart (angina pectoris which manifests itself with a strong sense of oppression in the chest especially during severe psychophysical stress).

Care and Treatment

Targeted interventions on lifestyle and risk factors are able, by themselves, to stop the progression of atherosclerosis. In some cases the correction of incorrect habits combined with drug therapy even leads to a regression of atherosclerotic lesions.

Considering the multifactorial origin of the disease, it is important to tackle the problem from all points of view. The pharmacological correction of modifiable risk factors must therefore act on several fronts.

Among the various pharmacological therapies, the most effective in the treatment of male atherosclerosis seems to be the cholesterol-lowering one. Reducing cholesterol as much as possible significantly decreases the probability of cardiovascular disease. The reduction of hypertension, on the other hand, seems to be the best strategy to prevent the "evolution of" atherosclerosis in women.

For further information: Drugs for the treatment of Atherosclerosis

In case the atherosclerosis is in an advanced stage and the pharmacological treatment is not sufficient, it is possible to resort to surgical correction. The technological advances of the last few years have made it possible to develop minimally invasive surgical techniques such as angioplasty.

Angioplasty

This procedure involves the introduction of a catheter with a small inflatable balloon positioned at the end.Once the atheroma is reached, the balloon is inflated by dilating the artery walls, flattening the atheroma and consequently restoring normal blood flow.

In recent years, angioplasty has been associated with the application of stents, small tubular prostheses applied permanently in the artery at the level of the plaque. The procedure is similar to that of traditional angioplasty, simply, after having dilated the walls of the arteries with the balloon, we proceed with the application of the stent which is made to adhere to the internal wall of the artery preventing it from closing.

The possibility that the stent will close over time exists and, despite being quite low (5-20%), it requires rather frequent checkups. For some years there have also been drug-release stents, capable of slowly releasing a drug that reduces the likelihood that the stent will reclose in the long term.

To learn more, read the article dedicated to angioplasty

ByPass

Traditional surgical techniques are based on the "incision" of the artery and the consequent removal of the atheroma (endarterectomy) or on the surgical creation of a bridge capable of bypassing the tract of the artery blocked by atherosclerotic plaque (bypass).

In this case, in order to avoid rejection phenomena, segments of the saphenous vein or internal mammary artery are generally used (the best choice but not always feasible).

Bypass surgeries commonly involve the arteries that feed the heart (coronary artery bypass graft) or those of the lower limbs in the case of peripheral arterial disease (aortofemoral, femorofemoral, femorodistal bypass).

Lifestyle

Regarding the correction of risk factors and dietary therapy, it is possible to refer to the advice given in the following article: Diet and atherosclerosis