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What is Atherosclerosis? [ath-uh-roh-skluh-roh-sis]
 You
will hear us talk of atherosclerosis often because it is at the root of vascular and heart disease.
Atherosclerosis is the "hardening of the arteries" - or arterial stiffness - that occurs when fat,
cholesterol, calcium, and other substances build up in the walls of the arteries and form a substance
called plaque.
Eventually plaque deposits can make the artery less flexible causing the heart to work harder to
push blood through the arteries. Blood clots can form around the plaque deposits, further restricting
blood flow. Furthermore, these blood clots and/or pieces of plaque can break apart, causing them to
move through the arteries. The restriction of blood flow or pieces of plaque or blood clots moving
through the arteries can cause a stroke, heart attack, insufficient blood supply to the limbs
(peripheral arterial disease), damage to organs, and abdominal aortic aneurysms.
According to the American Vascular Association, vascular disease (including
arterial stiffness) outside the heart causes almost as much death and disability as heart disease, and
more than any cancer. Unfortunately, most Americans don’t know very much about it.
Atherosclerosis (arterial stiffness), by nature, is a chronic disease that progressively worsens over time.
It can begin to develop as early as childhood and all people begin to develop some degree of it as they age.
Outward symptoms are not usually visible until blood flow becomes significantly slowed or blocked. Meaning,
it is not typically diagnosed until after the disease has significantly progressed.
With early detection, most cases of vascular disease and atherosclerosis can be treated very effectively.
HealthYes! offers several simple screening tests that can accurately detect problems within minutes. And
the beauty is, our ultrasound tests are fast, accurate, non-invasive and don’t produce any risk or discomfort
for clients.
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