High Cholesterol & Arteries!
QUESTION: What does high cholesterol do to arteries?
ANSWER: Hi there,
The reason why you have to find a way to lower high-cholesterol level is because of the fact that it damages the arteries.
You have to know that having high-cholesterol concentration in your blood leads to its accumulation inside and outside the blood vessels’ wall.
The accumulation of cholesterol molecules is a complex process. However, you have to know that when cholesterol enters inside the wall of the blood vessel, an inflammation begins as a results of accumulation of cholesterol molecule where it should not be.
During this inflammation, a lot things can happen but there are generally, two major consequences of this inflammation:
Generally, the blood vessels can change their size because of the muscle layer inside them. Such changes are important for the regulation of the blood pressure during the day.
However, when cholesterol accumulates in the blood vessel’s wall, it is not able to change its size anymore.
Of course such hardening of the arteries stops the normal blood pressure regulations. In this case, the risk for cardio-vascular diseases, like cardiomyopathy is very high.
The bad thing is that during this inflammation a part of the atherosclerotic plaque can break off, which lead to clothing of the arteries and stopping the blood flow - thrombosis.
During the mentioned inflammatory process, a part of the blood vessel can break, which leads to internal bleeding.
This condition is known as dissection and I mentioned it in purpose to see another way, in which the high-cholesterol concentration can damage the blood vessels.
Hope it helped!
Dr.Alba
Is smoking no.1 cause of cholesterol buildup in arteries?
QUESTION: Is smoking no.1 cause of cholesterol buildup in arteries?
ANSWER: Hi there,
I have to congratulate you for trying to find the explanation of why you don’t have to smoke.
The truth is that smoking is really the number one cause for atherosclerosis development and enlargement of the atherosclerotic plaques.
In purpose to understand how this is happening, I have to explain you few things about biochemistry.
As a consequence of these damages, a part of the molecules breaks off; a part named the free radicals.
As you probably know, the free radicals are not something good for the organism, because they do the same as the cigarette smoke - they damage other molecules.
Important thing is that these free radicals love to damage the molecule of the LDL cholesterol, which makes it quite sticker.
Such sticker LDL molecule can easily glue to the wall of the blood vessel, which of course, leads to appearance of new atherosclerotic plaques and the enlargement of old ones.
You have to know that the human body normally produces free radicals, but their concentration can’t harm your body and your blood vessels.
However, the cigarette smoke leads to the production of more free radicals, which can really damage you.
Because of this, my advice for you is to quite smoking a soon as possible and to start living a new healthy life, without cigarettes.
Hope it helped!
Dr.Alba
