Heart Health: Clogged arteries, Blocked arteries

Keeping your heart healthy is vital for overall health. One way to ensure heart health is to keep blockages away. Cleaning your arteries will help prevent blockages, which can result in atherosclerosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke.

Heart disease produces cholesterol plaque which begins on the walls of the arteries, hence clogged arteries. Over time, these plaques grow and slowly block the flow of blood in the arteries. Even worse, they can suddenly rupture, which in turn causes a blood clot to form over the rupture. This clot can cause a stroke, heart attack or other health condition.
Why You need to Clean Your Arteries
Blocked arteries that are caused by the buildup of plaque and blood clots are the primary cause of death in the US. You can prevent the formation of cholesterol plaque by reducing cholesterol and other risk factors. It may even help in reversing plaque buildup.
A process known as atherosclerosis forms cholesterol plaque which hardens the arteries due to inflammation. Painless and progressive, this process slowly and silently grows plaque, resulting in blocked arteries, which then puts blood flow at risk.
The cholesterol plaque formed through atherosclerosis is the common cause of strokes, heart attacks, and peripheral arterial disease, which are conditions that make up cardiovascular disease. The three main kinds of cardiovascular disease caused by cholesterol plaques are:

• Coronary artery disease: When the cholesterol plaque in the arteries is stable, there may be either no symptoms or there may be chest pain which is known as angina. When the plaque suddenly ruptures and blood clots form, it can result in blocked arteries and when this happens, the muscles in the heart die. This is known as a heart attack, or myocardial infarction.
• Cerebrovascular disease: Cholesterol plaque can rupture in one of the arteries in the brain. A stroke can occur, which in turn can lead to permanent brain damage. Blockages can also result in transient ischemic attacks or TIAs. They have symptoms that are similar to those of a stroke. However, they are temporary and do not cause permanent brain damage. However, if you experience a TIA, your risk of a subsequent stroke increases significantly, making medical attention and care highly important.
• Peripheral arterial disease: When the arteries in the leg get blocked, walking can be painful and wound healing becomes poor due to poor blood circulation. Severe peripheral arterial disease may make amputations necessary.

Foods to Clean the Arteries
If you are striving to maintain or restore your health, you should keep in mind that there are many foods that can help in unclogging arteries, reduce inflammation, and lower high blood pressure, including:
Asparagus: This is one of the best vegetables to help clean arteries. Asparagus is rich in minerals, fiber and vitamins K, B1, B2, C, and E, among many others. It helps lower blood pressure and also prevents blood clots.

• Broccoli: This is another vegetable packed with Vitamin K, which is known for preventing hardening of the arteries, or calcification. Loaded with antioxidants, fiber and vitamins, broccoli can help prevent LDL cholesterol oxidization, regulate blood pressure and reduce stress that may result in tears, and consequently plaque buildup, in the walls of the arteries.
• Chia seeds: The alpha linolenic acid and fiber in these seeds can help clean arteries by normalizing blood pressure, lowering triglycerides, reducing LDL cholesterol, and increasing HCL cholesterol.
• Cinnamon: This spice can help lower cholesterol levels and clear and prevent the buildup of plaque. Cinnamon has loads of antioxidants that protect from oxidation, thus maintaining heart health.
• Cold-water fish: Rich in healthy fats, cold-water fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines, and tuna can help in clearing the arteries. Eating these fish twice a week can help in reducing inflammation and plaque buildup, which can result in heart disease.

You may not be able to look in the mirror or hop on the scales to check your arteries and your weight may be ideal, but this does not necessarily mean that your arteries are clean. It is vital to keep them clear so eat the right foods and prevent plaque buildup to prevent serious illnesses and keep your heart healthy and happy.

Clogged Arteries (Arterial Plaque)

Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood rich in oxygen throughout your body. They go to your brain as well as to the tips of your toes. Healthy arteries have smooth inner walls and blood flows through them easily. Some people, however, develop clogged arteries. Clogged arteries result from a buildup of a substance called plaque on the inner walls of the arteries. Arterial plaque can reduce blood flow or, in some instances, block it altogether.

Clogged arteries greatly increase the likelihood of heart attack, stroke, and even death. Because of these dangers, it is important to be aware, no matter how old you are, of the causes of artery plaque and treatment strategies to prevent serious consequences.

What causes arterial plaque?

Plaque that accumulates on the inner walls of your arteries is made from various substances that circulate in your blood. These include calcium, fat, cholesterol, cellular waste, and fibrin, a material involved in blood clotting. In response to plaque buildup, cells in your artery walls multiply and secrete additional substances that can worsen the state of clogged arteries.

As plaque deposits grow, a condition called atherosclerosis results. This condition causes the arteries to narrow and harden.

Although experts don’t know for sure what starts atherosclerosis, the process seems to stem from damage to the arterial wall. This damage, which enables the deposition of plaque, may result from:

• High ''bad'' cholesterol and low ''good'' cholesterol. High levels of ''bad'' cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein (LDL), are major contributors to arterial plaque formation. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Everyone also has ''good'' cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein (HDL), circulating in the blood. HDL is believed to remove some of the bad cholesterol from plaque in clogged arteries and transport it back to the liver, where it is eliminated.
• High blood pressure . Having high blood pressure increases the rate at which arterial plaque builds up. It also hastens the hardening of clogged arteries.
• Cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke seems to increase the rate of atherosclerosis in the arteries of the heart, legs, and the aorta -- the largest artery in the body.
• Diabetes, or elevated circulating blood sugaris also a major culprit. Even people who have elevated sugars not yet at the level of diabetes, such as seen in the metabolic syndrome, also have increased risk of plaque formation.

Plaque often starts to develop during the childhood or teenage years. Then clogged arteries develop in middle age or later.

What are the dangers of arterial plaque and clogged arteries?

It depends on where arterial plaque accumulates. Clogged arteries in different parts of the body can lead to multiple medical conditions, including:

• Coronary artery disease. When plaque accumulates in the arteries carrying blood to the heart, it results in coronary artery disease, or heart disease. This condition can lead to heart attacks and is one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
• Carotid artery disease . The carotid arteries run up either side of your neck. They supply oxygen to your brain. The accumulation of arterial plaque in the carotid arteries can lead to stroke.
• Peripheral artery disease. If plaque builds up in the blood vessels that carry blood to your legs, it can reduce the amount of oxygen delivered. The reduced blood flow can cause you to experience pain, numbness, or serious infection in your legs and feet.

Do clogged arteries cause any symptoms?

In many instances, clogged arteries do not cause any symptoms until a major event, such as a heart attack or stroke, occurs.

At other times, especially when the the artery is blocked by 70% or more, the buildup of arterial plaque may cause symptoms that include:

• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations
• Weakness or dizziness
• Nausea
• Sweating

The first symptom, chest pain, is also called angina. It may result from reduced blood flow to the heart. That reduced blood flow is caused by plaque in the arteries leading to the heart.

Clogged arteries in carotid artery disease may cause stroke precursors known as transient ischemic attacks, or TIAs. TIAs may produce the following symptoms:

• Sensation of weakness or numbness on one side of your body
• Inability to move an arm or a leg
• Loss of vision on one side only
• Slurring of words

Clogged arteries in peripheral artery disease may cause:

• Leg pain
• Delayed healing of injuries to the feet
• Cold feet
• Gangrene

Are there tests for clogged arteries?

Yes. There are several tests for clogged arteries. Your doctor will determine which tests to prescribe based on your symptoms and medical history. The tests may include:

• Cholesterol screening
• Chest X-ray
• CT scan
• Ultrasound
• Echocardiogram and/or cardiac stress test
• Electrocardiogram
• MRI or PET scanning
• Angiogram 

How are clogged arteries or arterial plaque treated?

There are a variety of prevention and treatment options for clogged arteries. What your doctor prescribes to reduce arterial plaque and prevent clogged arteries will depend on the severity of your condition and your medical history. Your doctor may prescribe one or more of the following:

1. Lifestyle changes. A healthy lifestyle is essential for the management of arterial plaque and treatment of clogged arteries. This includes:

• Eating a diet low in saturated fats and cholesterol, with less sugars and simple carbohydrates, and rich in fruits and vegetables
• Maintaining a healthy body weight
• Not smoking
• Exercising regularly
• Managing stress levels
• Keeping blood pressure and cholesterol down
• Maintaining low blood sugars

2. Surgical procedures. In some instances, surgery may be necessary to treat clogged arteries and prevent additional arterial plaque accumulation. Surgery may include:

• Stent placement. A metal tube called a stent, which may contain medication, can be placed in an artery to maintain adequate blood flow.
• Bypass surgery. In this operation, arteries from other parts of the body are moved to bypass clogged arteries and help oxygen-rich blood reach its target destination.
• Balloon angioplasty. This procedure helps open clogged arteries that have become partially or fully blocked.

3. Medications. A number of medications may help control some of the factors that contribute to the accumulation of arterial plaque. These include:

• Cholesterol-lowering drugs
• Blood pressure-lowering drugs
• Aspirin and other blood-thinning drugs, which reduce the likelihood of dangerous blood clot formation