Diagnosis of atherosclerosis requires multi-row spiral CT, MRI, and vascular ultrasound, which cannot be determined by an individual, but patients may have symptoms such as chest pain after exertion, vertigo, headache, indigestion, and numbness in the limbs.
Ultrasound: Diagnosis can be made by Doppler ultrasound or intravascular ultrasound. Doppler ultrasound helps in the diagnosis of lesions in the arteries of the extremities, carotid arteries, and renal arteries; intravascular ultrasound can determine whether plaques are prone to rupture.
Angiography: Arteriography and magnetic resonance angiography can show whether there is atherosclerosis-induced lumen narrowing or angiomatous lesions.
X-ray, enhanced CT: some atherosclerosis-induced angiomatous lesions such as thoracic aortic aneurysm can be seen by X-ray; enhanced CT can show the lesions in the lumen.
Dyslipidemia is a risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis, including the elevation of blood total cholesterol, triglycerides, etc., and the decrease of HDL cholesterol, etc., and the abnormality of these indexes may indicate that atherosclerosis occurs.
Atherosclerosis is characterized by narrowing of the lumen, thickening of the wall and loss of elasticity, and can occur throughout the body, resulting in different symptoms.
Atherosclerosis occurs in the aorta can have chest pain, hemoptysis, occurs in the coronary artery can have post-sternal pain; occurs in the cerebral artery can have headache, hemiplegia, etc.; occurs in the renal artery can have stubborn hypertension; occurs in the mesenteric artery can have digestive symptoms; occurs in the limb arteries can lead to numbness of the limbs, claudication.
However, early atherosclerosis may not have obvious symptoms, and the specificity of the above symptoms is not strong. It is suggested that patients should consult the doctor for examination in time, and should not judge blindly by themselves to avoid delaying the condition.