What is aortic sclerosis and what are the preventive measures?

Aortic sclerosis causes the blood vessel walls of our body to continue to thicken, thereby losing their toughness, becoming hard and eventually brittle. Although aortic sclerosis has always been a common disease among the elderly, it is now gradually becoming younger. We need to have sufficient understanding of aortic sclerosis so that we can take preventive measures in advance.

1. What is the artery?

Arteriosclerosis includes arteriosclerosis, medial arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, etc. Atherosclerosis is a disease with a high incidence rate today and is referred to as arteriosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a type of hardening of the arteries that begins in the lining of the arteries.

2. Causes of Atherosclerosis

The most important causes of arteriosclerosis are hypertension, hyperlipidemia and smoking. Other factors such as obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise, stress, old age, family history, and bad temper can also cause arteriosclerosis.

1. Long-term impact of high blood pressure on the arterial wall causes mechanical damage to the arterial intima, making it easy for blood lipids to deposit on the arterial wall, forming fatty plaques and causing arteriosclerosis and stenosis. If blood pressure is not controlled, the incidence of myocardial infarction will increase by 2 to 3 times, and that of stroke by about 4 times.

2. Hyperlipidemia: The amount of fat in the blood is too high, which is more likely to deposit on the inner wall of blood vessels to form plaques, causing arteriosclerosis and stenosis.

3. Diabetes: Diabetic patients will have problems with fat metabolism. The protein that transports fat in the blood (called lipoprotein) will denature. During the transportation process, fat is easily deposited on the inner wall of blood vessels to form fatty plaques.

4. Nicotine, carbon monoxide, etc. in smoking cigarettes can damage the inner walls of arteries. The damaged inner walls of arteries can trap cholesterol, causing platelets to accumulate and form fatty plaques. At the same time, smoking can cause coronary artery contraction and spasm, reducing blood flow.

5. Lack of exercise Exercise can increase high-density lipoprotein, reduce low-density lipoprotein, help the body excrete excess cholesterol from the bile duct and intestines, and prevent excess cholesterol from depositing on the inner walls of blood vessels. In addition, exercise can promote blood circulation, increase blood vessel elasticity, lower blood pressure, consume excess calories, reduce the proportion of body fat, increase the proportion of muscle, and thus reduce weight. Therefore, people who lack exercise are prone to atherosclerosis.

6. For obese and overweight people, the heart workload is increased and the probability of abnormal blood lipids is also higher, thus increasing the risk of atherosclerosis. Obesity can easily lead to hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia.

7. Excessive stress will increase the secretion of adrenaline, which will cause high blood pressure, faster heartbeat, and damage the inner walls of arteries.

8. Family history refers to genetic factors that cause some people to develop arteriosclerosis at an early age. The cause is still unclear. Some people have severe hypercholesterolemia, which accumulates in the blood and promotes arteriosclerosis; some people have early-onset hypertension or are prone to thrombosis.

3. Preventive measures for arteriosclerosis

First, control smoking. The carbon monoxide in smoke reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells, leading to tissue hypoxia, which is an important factor in damaging vascular endothelial cells. Therefore, smoking control is also a key point in preventing atherosclerosis.

Second, lower blood pressure. Blood pressure refers to the pressure of blood on the arterial wall when it flows. High blood pressure naturally easily leads to damage to the blood wall, and the first to be affected is the endothelium of the blood vessels. Diabetes experts generally agree that diabetes is a vascular disease, which includes large and small vascular diseases throughout the body, including atherosclerosis. Therefore, to prevent atherosclerosis, we must start with careful control of hypertension and diabetes.

Third, exercise. People who sit still and do little exercise are more likely to become obese if they also eat too much. Obese people are prone to chronic nonspecific inflammation in their bodies, which is also one of the causes of damage to the arterial lining. Therefore, promoting exercise and controlling obesity are also helpful in preventing atherosclerosis.