Atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries and coronary heart disease, is largely caused by having an unhealthy lifestyle. It develops when we eat too many high-carb and
fatty foods, smoke, are overweight, don't get enough exercise, or don't control diabetes and high blood pressure.

Atherosclerosis begins when cholesterol, a waxy, fat-like substance, and other molecules in your blood stick to the inner lining of the arteries. From there, they are transported into the middle layer of the arterial wall. If your cholesterol levels remain high, this buildup continues over a period of years and develops into hard deposits known as plaque. The ever-growing plaque reduces the diameter of your arteries, decreasing blood flow and increasing the amount of pressure your blood exerts against the arterial wall. To defend against the increased pressure, your arteries start to produce more support cells to strengthen the blood vessel. The arterial walls begin to stiffen, resulting in atherosclerosis.

Your heart has to work harder to push blood through the clogged vessels. As the coronary arteries become increasingly blocked, the heart muscle becomes starved of oxygen in a condition called ischemia. The result can be shortness of breath, fatigue, and chest pains, or angina. If the plaque ruptures, a blood clot can break away and travel to your brain, causing a stroke. When a coronary artery becomes totally blocked, the lack of blood causes the heart tissue to actually die. This is called myocardial infarction: a heart attack. One third of all heart attacks are fatal. Even if the heart attack victim survives, the heart is permanently damaged because the heart's dead tissue is replaced by scar tissue, which can't pulsate the way healthy heart tissue does. The heart can no longer beat efficiently. Now it has to work harder to pump blood throughout the body, stressing the weakened heart even more.

More on this topic

When Arteries Become Blocked (VIDEO)
Watch an Angioplasty Procedure (VIDEO)
Blood Supply to the Heart
Atherosclerosis & Your Heart
Detecting Blockages
Angiogram Imaging
How Angioplasty Works
Angioplasty Risks & Complications
Preventing an Angioplasty
3D Heart

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