Everyone has heard of myocardial infarction or cerebral infarction!
Myocardial infarction or cerebral infarction is actually a blood clot blocking the cardiovascular or cerebral blood vessels, so how can the blood vessels or cerebral blood vessels of the heart have blood clots? In fact, the predecessor of the blood clot is a plaque!
Good blood vessels, how can they grow plaques?
Simple understanding, just like the water pipe or sewer pipe in everyone's home, the use of many years, there will be impurities in the water or various dirt gradually precipitated in the water pipe or sewer, and over time, it will eventually form a very hard garbage accumulation in the water pipe or sewer pipe.
We usually say that vascular plaque actually refers to the plaque of arterial blood vessels. When we are born, our plaques are elastic, very smooth, and free of any plaques.
So when you are young, no one will have diseases with vascular plaques.
So how did these plaques come about later?
1. Age factor
With the increase of age, our originally smooth and elastic blood vessels will gradually harden, called arteriosclerosis. Just like our gray hair and wrinkles, theoretically each of us will have hardened our arteries at a certain age. Studies have found that some people develop arteriosclerosis in their teens.
There are also some people, not only the blood vessels harden, but also the inside of the blood vessels for various reasons will accumulate vascular garbage, grow blood vessel plaque. One factor that causes plaques to appear is age, and the older you are, the more likely you are to have plaques.
2. Genetic factors
If there is a related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in the family, especially if the parents have had a clear myocardial infarction or cerebral infarction before the age of 55. These people are relatively more likely to develop atherosclerosis, and blood vessels are more likely to grow plaque, which is caused by heredity.
There are also some people who belong to familial hypercholesterolemia, which belongs to the high-risk group, and will appear in the juvenile ring, xanthelasma, etc., if LDL cholesterol is elevated. Then familial hypercholesterolemia should be considered, which may cause severe plaque in the adolescent stage, leading to myocardial infarction.
3. Life factors
Both age and heredity are factors we can't change. No one can return to old age, no one can choose parents, so the above two points are immutable factors.
The most important factors that lead to the formation and aggravation of vascular plaques are not the genetic and age mentioned above, but the main aspect is the factor of life.
For example, if a person can live a healthy life as a 45-year-old twin, then there may be no plaque in the blood vessels, and another unhealthy life may grow plaque.
The boss does not smoke or drink, insists on exercising, does not eat randomly, can eat healthily, low salt, low oil and low sugar, can work and rest regularly, and has a normal weight. There are no three highs, can insist on physical examination, and the mentality is better. Then the boss has no plaques, or no obvious plaques.
The old twenties began to smoke and drink, eat and drink, do not control the diet, irregular work and rest, obesity, do not love activities. Without physical examination, suddenly one day there may be a myocardial infarction. Go to the hospital to check high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia is very serious.
Therefore, the factors of life are the factors that determine whether there are plaques. And the lifestyle is something we can control!
4. Disease factors
In addition to unhealthy lifestyles, another important factor is related diseases, the most important ones are hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, which is what everyone is accustomed to call the three highs.
Long-term three highs are not found, or the three highs are not actively and formally controlled, then it is easy to trigger plaque occurrence, lead to plaque aggravation, and even induce plaque rupture, the formation of blood clots, resulting in myocardial infarction or cerebral infarction.
The three highs have the greatest impact in the process of plaque formation and development.
Second, how to prevent plaque
As we've already said above, neither age nor heredity can change us, so don't think about preventing plaque from both perspectives.
What we can do is prevent plaque from two aspects, that is, lifestyle and control of the three highs.
Only a comprehensive healthy lifestyle, just like the twins just said, can stay away from tobacco and alcohol, adhere to exercise, healthy diet, weight control, regular work and rest, good mentality, do these are the basis for preventing the three highs, but also the basis for preventing plaque.
The second is to detect the three highs early and control the three highs early. Whether it is high blood pressure or diabetes, or hyperlipidemia, most people do not feel it in the early stages. So we can't find out if we have three highs by feeling, we must measure blood pressure, draw blood and test blood glucose and lipids.
If there are three highs, regardless of whether there are symptoms, they must be formally controlled and monitored for a long time, so as not to have three highs uncontrolled, resulting in plaque appearing and causing plaque to worsen.
Third, how to control plaque
How do we control plaques that have already appeared?
Let's first briefly tell you that the plaque of the carotid artery can be found by color ultrasound, and the plaque of the heart artery cannot be found by ordinary examination, but can only be found by coronary CTA or coronary angiography.
After the discovery of the plaque, the basis for controlling the plaque is still the above two points: healthy life + control of the three highs.
On this basis, depending on the size or nature of the plaque, under the guidance of a doctor, statin drugs and aspirin are taken; some serious plaques may also need to be resolved by decortication or stent surgery!
In short, for vascular plaque, the best control is still prevention, and prevention is the best treatment for cardiovascular disease!