What is the cause of vascular spots

In daily life, everyone has plaques in their bodies to some extent. However, as people age, some plaques are slowly increasing in size and becoming more and more numerous, which has a different impact on people's health. For example, coronary heart disease is generally caused by the blockage of coronary arteries by plaques. Plaques in blood vessels must be taken seriously and actively checked and treated. What is the cause of vascular spots?

What causes vascular spots?

1. Endothelial cell damage

The inner wall of normal blood vessels has a layer of endothelial cells, which are smooth and intact, ensuring that blood flows normally inside. If you smoke, have high blood pressure, diabetes, high blood lipids, etc., your endothelial cells will be damaged.

2. Cholesterol deposition

Once the endothelial cells are damaged, the "bad" cholesterol in our blood - low-density lipoprotein cholesterol - will be deposited on the blood vessel walls through the damaged endothelium.

3. Plaque formation

When low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is deposited on the blood vessel walls, our body will initiate an inflammatory response, and macrophages will engulf the cholesterol to form foam cells. These things grow on the walls of blood vessels over the years and form plaques.

Plaque formation, chronic vascular occlusion

Plaque formation is a chronic process, so we may not feel any discomfort during the process of plaque formation. If it is not controlled, the plaque will become larger and thicker, and gradually "block" the blood vessels!

When doing vascular imaging examinations, the report sometimes says 30% stenosis, 50% stenosis, etc., which means that the blood vessels are gradually narrowing, and some will eventually become completely blocked.

Acute vascular occlusion

There are two situations in which plaques cause acute vascular occlusion, but in both situations, the plaque may "rupture" when the plaque is still "weak".

In one situation, the detached plaque travels with the bloodstream to small, distal arteries, where it becomes blocked and causes symptoms.

Another situation is that red blood cells and platelets deposit on the surface of the plaque rupture, forming a thrombus and blocking the blood vessel.

The impact of acute occlusion of the same blood vessel is often more serious than chronic occlusion. If acute vascular occlusion occurs, you must go to the hospital in time.