In daily life, many people find the presence of carotid plaque through physical examination, and in the case of carotid plaque, once it falls off, it will greatly increase the risk of embolism.
On the Internet, there are even many people who say that "the ultimate home of carotid plaque is undoubtedly cerebral infarction", because the carotid artery needs to supply blood to our brain, which is the largest part of the blood supply system, once the carotid artery is slightly or severely blocked, it will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease to a certain extent. But is that really the case?
In fact, it is very common to be found to have carotid plaque during physical examination, and with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the prevalence of the disease is becoming younger and younger.
But here to make it clear to everyone that after the physical examination found carotid artery plaque, it does not mean that they are only one step away from cerebral infarction, after the carotid artery plaque is detected, we must first do further examination of the plaque, on the one hand, to clarify the stability of the plaque, on the other hand, to observe whether there is arterial stenosis caused by the existence of plaque, only by combining these two aspects, can the risk of plaque be assessed.
When the plaque is in a relatively stable state, the risk of inducing cerebral infarction is small, and even if the artery is narrowed due to arterial plaque, as long as the narrowing is less than 50%, it usually does not have much impact on the normal blood supply to the brain. Therefore, in the case of a stable state of plaque, we only need to control the degree of hardening, and generally there will be no dangerous consequences.
However, if the degree of arterial lumen stenosis caused by plaque has exceeded 50%, then the corresponding risk factor will increase, and there will be a risk of plaque detachment and rupture, in this case, it is necessary to take timely measures to control the corresponding measures.
Of course, after discovering carotid plaque, you also need to do three things on weekdays, so that you may be able to make the carotid plaque smaller and smaller.
1. Adjust your lifestyle habits
If you want to achieve the reduction or reversal of arterial plaque, the first thing you need to do is to adjust your lifestyle habits in time, such as controlling your diet, adjusting your diet, increasing exercise, losing weight appropriately, and quitting smoking and drinking.
2. Reasonable pressure and sugar control
For patients with high blood pressure or diabetes, it is important to control their underlying metabolic diseases in their daily life.
Both elevated blood sugar levels and elevated blood pressure levels can lead to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, so for hypertensive patients, their blood pressure should be controlled below 140/90 mm Hg as much as possible on weekdays, and diabetic patients also need to maintain the stability of their blood sugar levels under the guidance and advice of doctors.
3. Take statin therapy
Statins can inhibit the formation of cholesterol in the body, reduce cholesterol levels in the body, and then play a role in preventing further growth of plaque, when the cholesterol level in the body is reduced to a certain level, some patients may also shrink the carotid plaque.
Of course, regarding the specific use of drugs, everyone must be under the guidance of a doctor, and do not blindly use drugs by yourself.