Atherosclerosis (AS) is the most important and common of a group of vascular diseases of atherosclerosis, characterized by lesions of the affected arteries starting from the intima. The lesion usually starts with lipid and complex sugar accumulation, hemorrhage and thrombosis, fibrous tissue proliferation and calcium deposition, and progressive metaplasia and calcification of the middle layer of the artery. The lesion often involves elastic and large medium-sized muscular arteries, and once it progresses enough to block the lumen of the artery, the tissues or organs supplied by the artery will be ischemic or necrotic. It is called atherosclerosis because of the yellow atheromatous appearance of the lipids that accumulate in the lining of the arteries.
”What are the risks of atherosclerosis?”
Atherosclerosis is a continuous overall disease that involves the arterial vessels supplying different organs or systems, leading to significant narrowing or even occlusion of the vessels and eventually to transient ischemic attacks and strokes, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death, atherosclerotic nephropathy, and intermittent claudication. If a patient has peripheral atherosclerotic disease, regardless of whether he has intermittent claudication, he has a 4-fold increased risk of myocardial infarction and a 2-3 times increased risk of stroke. Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death in Western developed countries, and it can lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease and cerebral infarction. As our people’s living standards improve and their dietary habits change, the disease has also become a leading cause of death in China.
”What are the causes of atherosclerosis?”
Whether it is peripheral atherosclerosis or coronary atherosclerosis, cerebrovascular atherosclerosis, elevated blood cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension and smoking are common risk factors. Small amounts of alcohol (equivalent to no more than 10 grams of alcohol per day, i.e. 250 ml of beer, 100 ml of wine or 50 ml of liquor) may be protective factors, but large amounts of alcohol can raise blood pressure, cause atrial fibrillation even lead to myocardial infarction or stroke.
The process of atherosclerosis is a slowly progressive process and a normal aging process, but it varies from person to person. Blood vessels are like water pipes at home, with a long time, the inner wall of the pipe to scale, rust, gradually lead to pipeline obstruction and can not supply water, of course, this process of pipeline changes, related to water quality, related to the quality of the pipe. So what exactly are the factors that lead to the hardening and narrowing of blood vessels?
”Risk factors of atherosclerosis?”
1, meals of large fish and meat, blood vessels are easy to block.
Often outside socializing, restaurant dishes with “high oil, high salt, high sugar” and “thick oil and sauce” concoction, resulting in more and more fat in the blood vessels, atherosclerosis accelerated, and finally the blood vessels will be blocked.
2, day and night reversal, disrupting the biological clock of blood vessels.
Staying up late leads to excessive secretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine in the body, making blood vessels constrict, slow blood flow, increased viscosity, and accelerated atherosclerosis. Long-term “black and white” people, the risk of heart disease will be doubled than normal people.
3, two packs of cigarettes a day, blood vessels are prone to “poisoning”.
”Smoking is one of the culprits leading to accelerated atherosclerosis, even if you have a good body, two packs of cigarettes a day, will certainly give blood vessels to stay poisoned, so that it is fragile day by day, accelerated atherosclerosis.” Smoking while staying up late will make the viscosity of the blood more than 8 times higher than normal.
4, exercise less, vascular garbage more.
More exercise can make more capillaries open, promote blood microcirculation, slow down the progress of atherosclerosis; and long-term non-exercise, the garbage in the blood vessels will gradually accumulate, the formation of atherosclerotic plaque “untimely bomb”, but also affect the capillary blood supply, and may be detonated at any time.
5, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hyperuricemia accelerated atherosclerosis dragging the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular
Hypertension patients are 4-7 times more likely to have a brain infarction than normal people. And high blood sugar not only involves microvascular, but also lead to macrovascular lesions, high blood sugar, the incidence of stroke is 2-3 times higher than normal people.
6, bad mood accelerates atherosclerosis.
Swiss experts have recently confirmed that mental stress can cause vascular intima contraction, accelerating atherosclerosis, vascular aging, and good mood can reduce vascular tension and delay vascular aging.
”How to let the atherosclerosis June roll it?”
1, eat some blood vessel “scavenger”
Hawthorn, oats, black fungus, kumquats, eggplant, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, these eight foods can unblock blood vessels and maintain the elasticity of the blood vessel wall. Vinegar can also soften blood vessels and reduce blood lipids.
2.Foods containing more fish oil
Fish is rich in thionine, lysine, proline and oxanthine, which can improve vascular elasticity, compliance and promote the role of sodium excretion, and fish oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids can protect the endothelial cells of blood vessels, reduce lipid deposition and improve the function of fibrinolysis.
3.Foods rich in arginine
For example, sea cucumber, loach, eel and sesame, yam, ginkgo, tofu skin, sunflower seeds, etc.; lack of folic acid and vitamin B6 and B12 in the diet will increase the level of cysteine in the blood, which will easily damage the endothelial cells of blood vessels and promote the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.
4.Supplementation of folic acid
It has an important role in reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease and stroke. It is recommended that middle-aged and elderly people, especially cardiovascular patients, should consume more foods rich in folic acid, such as amaranth, spinach, lobelia, asparagus, beans, yeast and apples, citrus, etc.
5, more intake of natural anticoagulant and lipid-lowering food
Such as garlic, onions, green onions, chrysanthemum, mushrooms, lobster and strawberries, pineapple also have a certain anticoagulant effect. Tomatoes, grapes, oranges contain a small amount of salicylic acid anticoagulant substances similar to aspirin. Lipid-lowering foods include spirulina, parsley, carrots, hawthorn, nori, kelp, walnuts and olive oil, sesame oil, etc.
6, exercise before meals, so that atherosclerosis slowed down
Foreign research shows that half an hour of exercise every day, such as walking, cycling, jogging, swimming, etc., can play a role in weight loss and fat loss, improve the degree of vascular “rejuvenation” to prevent aging. If moderate exercise before meals, the effect of protecting blood vessels better.
7, two pieces of chocolate per week
Dark chocolate contains natural antioxidants flavonoid, can prevent atherosclerosis, while increasing the vitality of the heart muscle, relax the muscle.
8, drink green tea, wine
”Drink green tea, wine”, in fact, is a slow way of life, but also a healthy way of life. It is recommended to drink green tea at home or outside social functions, because the catechol in tea can reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood, increase vascular flexibility, elasticity, and prevent vascular sclerosis. Or drink a glass every night with a large half cup (about 100-150 ml) of red wine, which has antioxidant effects, drink three or four times a week, can be very good at softening the blood vessels, remove the garbage in the arteries, delaying atherosclerosis.
9, vascular gymnastics every day to do
Brisk walking is a good cardiovascular gymnastics, can enhance muscle endurance and enhance the elasticity of blood vessels. In the rhythmic contraction and diastole of blood vessels, the active force of blood vessels restored, atherosclerosis is far away from us.
A sign of arterial aging atherosclerosis!
Vascular aging and arterial aging are directly related to human life expectancy, and by directly predicts human aging, because arterial aging leads to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and its basis is atherosclerosis. The degree of atherosclerosis can be used to indicate the degree of vascular health, which in turn indicates life expectancy.
In fact, atherosclerosis is accompanied by human growth. The inflammation of the blood vessel wall during human growth is an accumulative process, and various risk factors: high blood pressure, high blood lipids, high blood sugar, smoking, and little exercise will aggravate this process, and these factors will also influence each other. We recognize this as long as we make efforts to change our lifestyles so that atherosclerosis does not come quickly and thus affect our health. Certainly some current studies suggest that atherosclerosis can be stabilized and reversed in a limited way, including statins, a healthy diet, and proper activity.