I. What is atherosclerosis all about? A study of people who died of cardiovascular disease found that the coronary arteries, which nourish the heart, and the cerebral vessels, which nourish the brain, have obvious narrowing and blockage. There is a large amount of “atheromatous material” deposited in the walls of the blood vessels, making the walls thicker and harder and the lumen thinner and more blocked. Under the microscope, this “atheromatous material” contains a large number of cholesterol crystals and white blood cells, and the vessel wall structure is disorganized, with a large number of vascular smooth muscle cells proliferating. This is why the medical term for this change is “atherosclerosis”. The deposition of lipids in the blood vessel wall is the basic process of atherosclerosis. Various risk factors such as high blood pressure, lipid abnormalities, diabetes, and smoking can cause endothelial damage and destroy the integrity of the endothelium. The “bad” cholesterol (LDL_C) in the blood vessels enters the subendothelium through the damaged endothelium, and macrophages engulf LDL_C to form foam cells, which are deposited under the endothelium to form lipid streaks and atherosclerotic plaques. Second, what are the consequences of atherosclerosis? The occurrence and development of atherosclerosis leads to narrowing and blockage of the arterial vessels, which is generally systemic and leads to ischemia of the corresponding organs and tissues. If the cerebral vessels responsible for blood supply to the brain become narrowed and blocked, a stroke will occur in severe cases; if the coronary arteries responsible for supplying blood to the heart become narrowed and blocked, angina pectoris or even myocardial infarction will occur; atherosclerosis of the lower limbs will lead to intermittent claudication; atherosclerosis of the renal arteries will lead to renal hypertension. Third, dyslipidemia can lead to atherosclerosis, which conditions will occur abnormal lipid metabolism? 1. Excessive calories in the diet. 2. Excessive animal fat in the food. 3. Decrease in physical activity. 4. Too low vegetable oil in food. Vegetable oil mainly contains unsaturated fatty acids, which can make the liver accelerate the degradation of cholesterol into bile acids and increase the excretion of cholesterol to the bile duct. 5. Lack of plant sterols in the diet. Plant sterols are a cholesterol analogue that can organize the intestinal absorption of cholesterol, thus lowering blood cholesterol. Plant sterols mainly come from legumes and vegetables, so people who like to eat meat but not legumes and vegetables are prone to abnormal blood lipid metabolism. 6.Smoking and alcohol consumption. 7. Hyperinsulinemia. 8, Some metabolic diseases can also occur abnormal lipid metabolism, the common ones are diabetes, obesity, hyperadrenocorticism, hypothyroidism, nephrotic syndrome. 9. There is a family history of dyslipidemia. What should be done about abnormal lipid metabolism? LDL cholesterol is a necessary condition for the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis, and is the culprit of vascular embolism, so the key to treat hyperlipidemia is to reduce LDL cholesterol. 1, drugs can lower LDL cholesterol – statins. 2, Adopting a healthy lifestyle can also achieve the same purpose.