The Causes Of Atherosclerosis Disease – 9 Major Causes

Atherosclerosis disease is a very common disease which majorly attacks elderly, alcohol addicts…This disease can become a killer if people are not be aware of it and look it down.

I. The Causes Of Atherosclerosis Disease – The Worst Causes:

causes of atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a disease which affects the arterial (as well as venous if it is moved to another place for the function of the arteries after a surgery). Broadly, it is manifest that the blood vessels become “hardened” by the lesions known as plaque developing in the arteries. At the later stages, the plaque can cause narrow intravascular and limit the flow of blood in it. It can be also broken off and travel through the bloodstream to hurt the tissues and organs below.

Atherosclerosis can be not difficult to deal with if people have knowledge of what it is, what causes it, how to relieve the symptoms, and how to prevent it. In this article, I would like to show my readers 9 major causes of atherosclerosis and the negative effects it leave in our body.

1. Air Pollution: 

causes of atherosclerosis

The first out of the most common causes of atherosclerosis you might have never thought before is due to the air pollution.

Recent researches suggested that air pollution in general and traffic pollution in particular, can speed up the progression of atherosclerosis disease. This is actually one of the causes of atherosclerosis you should know to avoid if you do not want to suffer from this terrible disease.

2. Ethnicity:

causes of atherosclerosis

Rates of diabetes and high blood pressure are higher among people of African-Caribbean and African descent, meaning that people in this group also have higher risk of developing cardiovascular and atherosclerosis disease.

People of south Asian descent (people from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India) are 5 times more likely to get diabetes than the population at large.

Also, this makes the risk of people in this group suffering from cardiovascular and atherosclerosis disease higher.

3. Family History: 

causes of atherosclerosis

If you have a first-degree relative (a sister, brother, or parent) living with cardiovascular and atherosclerosis disease, you are twice as likely to suffer from the same issues compared with other people.

4. Alcohol: 

causes of atherosclerosis

This is also a very popular one among the causes of atherosclerosis that is very well-known. Drinking an excess amount of alcohol can lead to hypertension (high blood pressure) and higher blood cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of suffering from cardiovascular and atherosclerosis disease. Therefore, for good, you should limit the consumption of alcohol to avoid this dangerous disease and many other diseases. Actually, health experts always recommend people not to abuse alcohol because of many negative effects that alcohol can leave in our body.

5. Obesity: 

causes of atherosclerosis

Even if you believe this or not, being obese or overweight does not directly raise your risk of getting cardiovascular and atherosclerosis disease (CVD), but it totally can cause related risk factors that will increase your risk after all.

In particular, obese or overweight people:

  • Have a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes
  • Tend to have higher cholesterol levels, resulting from following high-fat diets
  • Have higher risk of getting high blood pressure

Actually, obesity is always a serious matter which must be prevented because it can harm the body itself and also cause many related health issues, making us weaker and reduce the longevity. For good, people should keep a healthy daily diet and do exercises in a regular basis to manage weight better and reduce the risk of developing obesity.

6. Diabetes: 

causes of atherosclerosis

If you have poorly controlled type-1 or type-2 diabetes, the excessive amount of glucose in the blood inside your body will be able to harm your arteries’ walls, leading to the increased risk of developing atherosclerosis. In fact, this is also one of the most common and dangerous causes of atherosclerosis disease that you should be aware of.

7. High Blood Pressure: 

causes of atherosclerosis

If you are living with hypertension (high blood pressure), your arteries will be damaged in the similar way to cigarette smoke.

The arteries inside human body are designed for pumping blood at a certain pressure. If you have exceeded blood pressure, it will damage the walls of your arteries.

Here are the most common factors that can cause high blood pressure:

  • A lack of exercise
  • Smoking
  • Stress
  • Drinking excess amounts of alcohol
  • Being overweight

8. Smoking: 

causes of atherosclerosis

Smoking can harm and even destroy the walls of the arteries inside your body. Blood cells are known as platelets which can clump together at the site of the harm, trying to fix the problem. This can totally lead to the narrow arteries situation.

Smoking also make the ability to carry oxygen around the body of your blood decreased, increasing the risks of a blood clot occurring.

9. Cholesterol And High-Fat Diets:

causes of atherosclerosis

Cholesterol is a type of fat which is very important for our body’s functioning. It can help to protect nerve endings, make up cell membranes (the walls which protect individual cells), and produce hormones.

There are 2 main types of cholesterol:

  • high-density lipoprotein (HDL)
  • low-density lipoprotein (LDL)

If you regularly consume foods which are high in saturated fat, this can cause the high levels of LDL (“bad cholesterol” or “unhealthy cholesterol”).

LDL will carry cholesterol from the liver to the cells which need it. If there is an excess amount of cholesterol for the cells to use, it can build up in the walls of the arteries.

This is actually a major factor which causes fatty deposits which can reduce or block your blood supply completely over time. The fatty deposits are also called “atheroma” or “plaques”.

Here is some food which contains high levels of saturated fat:

  • Cream
  • Butter
  • Processed meat
  • Sausages
  • Bacon
  • Cakes
  • Biscuits

A lack of daily or frequently exercise, drinking excess amounts of alcohol, and being obese can also increase the levels of bad cholesterol inside your body, leading directly to atherosclerosis. Therefore, this is the last but not least one of the causes of atherosclerosis disease that everyone should not skip or ignore.

II. Negative Effects Of Atherosclerosis: 

Here are 4 most common side effects of atherosclerosis which not everyone knows:

1. Sides Effects Of Atherosclerosis Of PeripheralArteries: 

causes of atherosclerosis

The first of the negative effects of atherosclerosis is the side effects of atherosclerosis of peripheral arteries. Peripheral artery disease can actually affect the lower extremities’ arteries. The effects of atherosclerosis contain: sense or numbness of fatigue in the leg muscles, cramps, and pains. The skin cover the leg of people with atherosclerosis of peripheral arteries is smooth and shiny, the nails are thickened, and the hair is lost.

2. Side Effects Of Atherosclerosis Of Brain Arteries: 

causes of atherosclerosis

In this case, doctors talk about the cerebrovascular disease – the disease which is resulted a result from the atherosclerosis of the brain arteries side effects (which supply the brain with oxygenated blood). Doctors described impermanent strokes and ischemic attacks. Symptoms of this disease can be: paralysis on one side of the body, loss of coordination and balance, muscle weakness, loss of vision, problems with understanding speech or speaking, dizziness, and sudden headaches. All of the causes of atherosclerosis I mentioned in the first section can lead to this type of the atherosclerosis disease, so you should be careful with this. This is actually a dangerous form of this disease.

3. Side Effects Of Atherosclerosis Of Coronary Arteries:

causes of atherosclerosis

The side effects of atherosclerosis of coronary arteries are evoked by anger, cold, stress, sexual activity, and physical exercise. The symptoms and signs include chest pain and feeling of compression with stabbing or burning sensations. People living with atherosclerosis may also suffer from the pains in the arm, shoulder, jaw, or neck. Other symptoms contain weakness, perspiration, and shortness of breath.

4. Cerebral Infarction: 

causes of atherosclerosis

In case the atherosclerosis raft is large as it can clog the artery, the patient will be cerebral infarct (this situation is formerly known as ischemic stroke). The irreversible necrotic cerebral region will cause hemiplegia. This is the most common form of atherosclerosis, accounting for 60 to 70% of cerebral vascular accident in general.

When the atherosclerosis raft in the carotid arteries is broken, one of them will be able to lift up along with the blood flow, clogging a brain artery. This can also lead to cerebral infarction, hemiplegia, and necrosis

This is the list of 9 most common causes of atherosclerosis disease and 4 side effects of the disease that readers of VKool.com should know and remember to avoid and stay far away from the artery damage.

If you think that the causes of atherosclerosis disease I mentioned above are exactly what you are looking for and useful for even other people you know with atherosclerosis, you should not hesitate to share it with them and remember to leave your comments and opinions below!

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