Essay On Fatty Acids

Atherosclerosis is the process in which substances known as plaques, which are made up of cholesterol and platelets, adhere to tears in the walls of arteries. Over time these plaques build up to the point where they occlude blood flow in the arteries. When this happens in the coronary arteries, either directly, as the result of buildup in the arteries themselves, indirectly in the form a clot from another part of the body breaking loose and becoming lodged in the coronary arteries, the usual result is a heart attack.3

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

Today, more people suffer from weight and health problems than people from twenty years ago. You may ask why is that, and what is the difference between us today and the people of the last generation? Well, one main difference is the high-fat and low fat foods that we eat. High-fat and low-fat diets can be the cause of half our problems. People today; choose some sort of diet to help their weight problems. But many people do not know what the bad intake of some foods can do to you.

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)

the two pathways and it requires that all factors are present within the blood for clotting

A sufficient coronary artery blood flow is essential to supply oxygen for normal cardiac activities (Craft, 2014, p. 599). Atherosclerosis is a common form of CHD. It is an inflammation disease when plasma cholesterol is high. Risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking and diabetes increase the risk of endothelium injuries, contributing to the increase in oxidated lipid-lipoprotein (LDL). Foam cell is produced by the increase in the number of macrophages signalled by oxidated LDL. Next, the accumulation of foam cells will cause the formation of fatty streak lesions on arteries walls. Over time, fatty streak lesions migrate to the site and form fibrous plaque due to the increase in smooth muscles and collagen. The thickening and hardening initiated by an accumulation in calcified fibrous plaque caused the blood vessels to narrow. As a result, a decrease in tissue perfusion contributing to the development of myocardial ischemia (Craft, 2014, p. 599; McCance & Huether, 2014, pp. 1145-1147).

In contrast, the placebo group which were given low doses of polyunsaturated fatty acids, showed increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and loss of anti-inflammatory TGF-b.

The development of an atherosclerotic plaque is relatively a very a complicated process where Plaque rupture accounts for about 76% of fatality lead by thrombi. The evolution of atherosclerosis begins with foam cell accumulation where the macrophages accumulate within arterial wall intima, progresses to form fatty streak where further accumulation of intra and extracellular lipids, this is a potentially reversible stage (Greenland p, 2013) further atheroma/fibroatheroma forms where cholesterol and phospholipids accumulate intramurally. This is a vulnerable state as it is predisposed to spontaneous rupture by inflammation and thrombus deposition may occur. Hemodynamic changes during this stage may cause ischemia or silent infarction, if large plaque rupture total occlusion may cause myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death. Finally a complex lesion can develop where fibro muscular tissue can be seen with repair efforts followed by repeated plaque formation, this may slowly increase in size and produce significant arterial narrowing.

Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of a myocardial infarction (MI). As a result of CAD, plaque builds up in the arteries, thus narrowing the coronary arteries and preventing adequate blood flow to the heart. This condition is called atherosclerosis. In 2012, Huether, S., & McCance, K. defines Atherosclerosis when it begins to occur when there has been an injury to the coronary vessel wall. When injury occurs on the vessels endothelial layer it triggers a clotting mechanism. That mechanism sends chemotaxsis signals through the body for monocytes/macrophages to come clean the open vessel wall that is leaking LDL into the blood. The macrophages attempt to digest the fatty substance but have a hard time doing so. When the cells cannot digest the LDL, cell proliferation happens and they become static. Static macrophages turn into foam cells that then begin to cover the open vessel wall. Stasis of these foam cells occurs and forms a fatty streak, beginning to slowly occlude the artery. Then with time, build up of collagen occurs on top of the

Lipids and Carbohydrates Lipids are a group of substances, which include fats, oils and waxes. Carbohydrates include sugars, starches, glycogen and cellulose. They are stored in plants as starches and in animals as glycogen. There are many differences between carbohydrates and lipids.

“Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in living organisms to maintain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments” (Metabolism). Metabolism breaks down the food that we eat, transforming it into energy for our bodies. Metabolism is broken down into two categories Anabolism and Catabolism, which help aid in the chemical reaction process. Specific proteins in the body control the chemical reactions of metabolism, and each chemical reaction is coordinated with other body functions (Dowshen). Metabolism is a constant process that begins when we're born and ends when we die. It is a vital process for all life not just humans, and

784). The immune system attempts to attack the inflamed area in the artery with special white blood cells and “cells full of fatty nutrients, foam cells, begin to form there, too” (Sapolsky, 2004, p. 43). The white blood cells are unable to properly fight the affected area, and in turn, end up adding more substance to the build up. As this process continues, the affected area becomes inflamed and physically hardens. This produces a blockage in the artery and reduces blood flow, while also causing an increase in blood pressure. At this point of the atherosclerosis build up, many people, especially women, experience angina.

Many of the vaso-protective function of endothelium is provide by the Nitric Oxide(NO)20.Endothelium damaged by turbulent or non-laminar blood causes decreased production of NO.Such kind of blood flow also stimulates endothelial cells to produce adhesion molecules, which recruit and bind inflammatory cells. Hypercholesterolemia seems to inactivate the normal function of NO. The net effect is endothelial binding of monocytes and T cells, migration of these cells to the subendothelial space, and initiation of a local vascular inflammatory response. Lipids in the blood, particularly low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), also bind to endothelial cells. 18Firstly LDL is transported across the healthy intima and become trapped in intima of a vessel wall.It undergoes oxidative modification and then oxidized LDL(OxLDL) is formed5.OxLDL is mighty inducer of inflammatory molecules.It adds up to the inflamotory signaling by endothelium that activates chemotactic substances, growth factors that attracts monocytes to vessel wall21Eventually OxLDL transforms monocytes into macrophages which makes the Forms cells, which are the hallmark of atherosclerosis. Oxidized LDL impair the signal transduction between endothelial cell surface receptors and NO production, inhibit NO synthase activity and inactivates NO realese from endothelial cells.22.Once the endothelium is impaired, oxidized LDL is stored in vascular endothelium and by the process of series of mechanism, foam cells are formed and then eventually fatty plaque that occludes the vessel along with the decreased amount of NO which decreases the ability of the vessel to dilate. As the plaque grows arterial wall narrowing and thickening occurs5. This plaque and narrowing of vessel results in decreased blood flow

Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), Omega-3s play a critical role in brain function and in normal growth and development.

The role of inflammation in tissue healing is to help to promote healing and create an environment around the injured area that is optimal for the best healing time and for the best healing process to take place. In order to complete this the body must remain in a balanced homeostasis, this being a level at which the bodies temperature, blood pH and water balance are constant. Remaining at a balanced homeostasis will mean that the inflammatory response is able to work effectively as it has the right conditions in which to perform at its