Symptoms
Because atherosclerosis develops gradually, symptoms do not get displayed until the situation gets worsened and complicated. It might result in an inadequate supply of blood to organs and tissues. Symptoms also depend on:
- The location of the affected artery.
- Heart pressure in the chest and chest pain
- Brain –numbness and weakness in arms and legs, slurred speech, drooping facial muscles, and temporary loss of vision in one eye
- Arms and legs – Leg pain during physical activities
- Kidneys – High blood pressure or kidney failure
Causes
Atherosclerosis is thought to begin with a small damage or injury caused to the thin inner layer of an artery called endothelium. The causes could be:
- High amount of triglycerides
- High cholesterol
- Consumption of tobacco
- High blood pressure
- Obesity or diabetes
- Arthritis, lupus, infections and other inflammatory diseases
Risks
Atherosclerosis happens due to several risk factors like ageing, lack of physical activities, obesity, diabetes, consumption of unhealthy food, high blood pressure and cholesterol, family history of heart disease, etc.
Prevention
Lifestyle changes like quitting smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight by regular exercising and healthy dietary food are to be incorporated to prevent atherosclerosis.
How is it diagnosed?
At Sumitra hospital, your doctor may use one or more of these tools to diagnose atherosclerosis –
- Physical examination
- Blood tests
- Doppler ultrasound
- Ankle-brachial index
- Electrocardiogram
- Stress test
- Angiogram
- CT-Scan and MRI