What is arteriosclerosis? In scientific terms, arteriosclerosis is defined as hardening of an artery. There are so many causes that can cause this condition. When this happens, your artery will not be able to function properly. The main function for an artery is to transfer oxygenated blood to a desired place, such as body tissues and cells. If the artery is hardened, the process will become hard to execute because the artery won’t be able to expand. Thus, the blood’s transfer system will be unable to work and transfer the blood efficiently. When this happens, the organ that is supposed to receive the oxygenated blood will be deprived of oxygen. Hence, soon the organ will either deteriorate or die making the person more susceptible to further injuries. Usually, arteriosclerosis will affect the small artery such as the coronary artery because they are more prone to become hardened and restricted. This is the reason why so many people get heart problems such as heart attack, their coronary arteries get arteriosclerosis and insufficient oxygen is received by the heart. As stated in this diagram, there are so many causes that can cause arteriosclerosis. Here, we will list out some of the common causes for arteriosclerosis. Feel free to educate yourself about this disease and hopefully you will gain a better understanding on what to expect when you undergo your health screening.
- High blood pressure
High blood pressure, or better known as hypertension is one of the most common causes for arteriosclerosis. High blood pressure is defined as having a blood pressure reading of more than 140/100mg. So how can high blood pressure cause hardening of an artery? As the name suggests, high blood pressure happens when the blood contains so much pressure and because of this reason, it can affect the artery wall. This high pressure will damage the artery wall overtime. When the wall is damaged, it will try to repair itself by repairing the tissue and this situation will cause the artery to harden. Thus, this is the main reason why and how arteriosclerosis happens.
- High cholesterol
Apart from high blood pressure, having high cholesterol levels can also contribute to arteriosclerosis. High cholesterol level simply means having a high level of cholesterol in the body. Now, we are obviously talking about the bad cholesterol since this type of cholesterol is so dense and it is very hard to digest by the body. Since the cholesterol level is high, this situation will make it easy for the cholesterol to remain in the vessel and block its pathway. This blockage will cause deprivation of oxygen and further harm to the arterial wall. Hence, this repeated condition will cause arteriosclerosis to the artery.
- Smoking tobacco
The whole world already knows about the bad effects of smoking tobacco. It is widely known that smoking cigarettes can cause a lot of unwanted health problems such as lung cancer, mouth cancer, esophageal cancer and many other chronic diseases. The other most common disease that can be caused by smoking cigarettes is heart attack. Yes, smoking cigarettes can cause arterial wall damage due to the harmful and toxic substances emitted from the cigarette itself.
- Obesity
This is also one of the common causes for arteriosclerosis. Being obese can also increase the chances of getting arteriosclerosis. This is mainly related to the cholesterol level in your body. Obviously, being obese will mean having a high level of bad cholesterol in the body. If you are obese, you might want to cut down on your weight in order to avoid getting any increased chances of getting health diseases in the future.
