Atherosclerosis: White Blood Cells

Many of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease cause problems because they lead to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the narrowing and thickening of arteries and develops for years without causing symptoms. It can happen in any part of the body. Around the heart, it is known as coronary artery disease, in the legs it is known as peripheral arterial disease. The narrowing and thickening of the arteries is due to the deposition of fatty material, cholesterol and other substances in the walls of blood vessels. The deposits are known as plaques. The rupture of a plaque can lead to stroke or a heart attack. (World Heart Federation).

This chronic disease is also known as atherosclerosis and is characterized as a fatty plaque build-up in arteries which blocks the blood flow to the vital organs in ours bodies; with the heart being the main target. This potentially life-threatening blockage results in starvation and deprivation of oxygen enriched blood and vital nutrients that are necessary for the heart to maintain proper function; and that is being able to pump blood efficiently. Typically, it is said that the process of heart disease may begin during childhood years of an individual’s life. In a healthy individual; our arteries start out smooth and elastic, allowing effortless blood flow to our hearts and throughout our bodies. As this cholesterol-laden plaque begin to accumulate within the walls of blood vessels (which may be caused by a poor diet, and lack of physical activity, or simply hereditary) the vessels become inflamed. With the body’s effort in healing itself, this destructing plaque begins to release substances such as lipoprotenins, calcium, and inflammatory cells throughout the bloodstream.

Nevertheless, there is an understandable and noticeable link between circulatory related diseases and lifestyle diseases, such as Coronary Heart Disease. Coronary heart disease can occur when fatty acids, such as cholesterol in an inadequate diet, build up in the walls of the coronary artery. These fatty deposits collect minerals and harden to become a plaque. Eventually, this plaque grows and can swells up, forming an aneurism. In some cases, this aneurism may burst leading to instant death. As it continues to grow and swell up, it finally blocks the artery completely and forms blood clots. This is known as coronary thrombosis. A myocardial infarction, or in other words as heart attack, occurs when no oxygen is able to reach the coronary artery and thus it is unable to fulfil its role in providing the heart muscle with a sufficient supply of blood. Heart attacks are very common in the society nowadays, especially occurring in smokers or obesity related diseases (Millar, June 2014)

LDL carries plaque which attaches to the walls of arteries and beings to build up. The plaque is a combination of cholesterol, fat, calcium and other substances. As it builds up over time, it hardens and the arteries become narrow, a condition called atherosclerosis. The blood cannot flow as freely and oxygen cannot get throughout the body as it should. If the plaque ruptures or breaks open, a blood clot can form. If the clot becomes large enough, blood flow is impaired or blocked completely. You may experience extreme pressure or pain in the chest called angina or possible pain in the shoulders, jaw, arms, back, or the discomfort associated with indigestion. This is a heart attack. Heart damage or even death may result if blood flow is not quickly restored. However, arteries leading to other parts of the body can have plaque buildup resulting in strokes, carotid artery disease, and peripheral artery disease. On the other hand, if the HDL is higher, the risk for heart disease is lower.

Macrophage which is now foam-like accumulates on the blood vessel to form visible fatty streak which then undergoes apoptosis. The plaque continues to grow and hardens narrowing the arteries. This ruptures and causes a blood clot which limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the body causing a heart attack, stroke or even death. Factors that are known to predispose to atherosclerosis are physical inactivity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, cigarette smoking and hypertension which increase the chances by two-fold by damaging the vascular endothelium. Experimental studies have just shown that excess blood levels of iron can lead to atherosclerosis (Guyton and Hall, 2011).

Coronary Artery Disease Kyle Chen, CSUN Nursing Student NURS 302 – Pathophysiology Professor Gelardi DNP, RNC, NNP, CPNP, CCNS California State University, Northridge August 3, 2015 Definition of Disease: Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease and the #1 cause of death for both men and women in the United States resulting in about 375,000 deaths a year. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2014). This disease refers to “any vascular disorder that arrows or occludes the coronary arteries leading to myocardial ischemia” (Huether & McCane, 2012). It occurs when the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart becomes hardened and narrowed. Also, factors such as smoking, high levels of fat & cholesterol in the blood, hypertension, high levels of sugar in the blood, and blood vessel inflammation damage the inner layers of the coronary arteries. “This disease is prevalent in younger and elderly individuals. Coronary artery calcium is highly predicative of coronary heart disease event risk across all age groups” (Tota-Maharaj et al, 2014). Coronary artery disease is caused by the buildup of cholesterol and fatty deposits, or plaque, in the inner walls of the coronary arteries in a process called atherosclerosis. Normally, the coronary arteries are smooth and elastic, lined with a layer of cells called the endothelium. The endothelium acts as a physical barrier between the blood stream and the coronary artery walls.

Coronary Artery disease is caused by damage or injury to the inner layer of a coronary artery and can be caused by a number of factors. Some of them are; smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or insulin resistance, and/or a sedentary lifestyle. After the wall of an artery is damaged it makes it much easier for fatty deposits (plaque) such as cholesterol and other fatty waste products to build up on the linings of artery walls. This process is known as atherosclerosis. If this plaque breaks or ruptures platelets will clump at the site to try and repair the artery, but this can also block the arteries which can lead to a heart attack. The main factors that place a person at risk for this disease are age, as getting older is

Picture 1: Coronary Heart Disease The arteries get narrowed stopping the red blood cells to reach the heart. This process is is called atherosclerosis and the fatty material is called atheroma. The fatty material that builds up in the arteries is mostly low density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol. Lipoprotein is a molecule that carries cholesterol throughout the bloodstream. Cholesterol is a fat that is produce by the liver from the saturated

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States per the Center for Disease Control (Heart Disease Facts). All students, regardless of gender and ethnicity, should be taught the importance of cardiovascular health in biology class so they can improve their wellbeing and identify risk factors

Atherosclerosis initiates when endothelium becomes damaged, allowing the low-density lipoproteins cholesterol to accumulate in artery wall. The body sends the macrophages - a type of the white blood cell(WBC) - to clean up this cholesterol, the cells get stuck at affected site. Sometimes, the plaque grows to a certain size and

Cause Atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is caused by a buildup of fat and other substances in the blood vessel wall. Fat that accumulates will harden and form plaque. These plaques that inhibit blood circulation to the heart.

: Introduction: In December of 1992, my paternal grandfather suffered a heart attack. He had been hauling several 50 lb. sacks of corn up into the deer feeder on his property by himself. He got into his truck, turned the ignition, put it into drive and before he could take

Lissette Navarro Bio 121 09 Professor Abdullah November 5, 2016 Everyday we are exposed to candy, fast food, and many other junk foods. Although they might taste good at that moment, over time it does become an issue. The result of having excessive amounts of these foods can cause high blood pressure also called,

Atherosclerosis (ath"er-o-skleh-RO'sis) comes from the Greek words athero (meaning gruel or paste) and sclerosis (hardness). It's the name of the process in which deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery. This buildup is called plaque. It usually affects large and medium-sized arteries. Some

CAD is a chronic process that takes a life time to develop and manifest itself. It occurs when the coronary artery that supplies the heart with blood, oxygen and nutrients becomes narrow or blocked by fatty plaques. Atherosclerosis which is the buildup of cholesterols deposits within intima of the arteries are the common causes of CAD. Inflammation due to an injury to endothelium cell plays a vital role in the formation of atherosclerosis. Typically, the inner lining of the vessel wall (Endothelium) does not coagulate with thrombocytes, white blood cells or other coagulation factors. However, when the endothelium gets injured due to smoking, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, infection causing inflammatory system will respond to the injured