Clogged arteries are more common than you think

How many people do you know with clogged arteries?

That’s a trick question. Everyone beyond the early years of childhood has clogged arteries, or atherosclerosis, to some degree, said Peter Bourell, MD, a cardiologist with the Cape Cod Hospital Cardiology Hospitalist Service.

“Atherosclerosis is a very common disease that affects literally everyone worldwide in various degrees,” he said. “Some people are more symptomatic than others, and some people don’t develop symptoms. It’s a disease that starts in childhood and progresses throughout your lifetime.”

Atherosclerosis starts with the deposition of lipids in the walls of the arteries, he said, and they can grow to the point that they restrict blood flow.

It’s a common misconception that atherosclerosis only affects the arteries that deliver blood to the heart and brain, potentially causing heart attacks or strokes, Dr. Bourell said.

“It really is a systemic illness that affects every artery in the body,” he noted. “Sometimes people develop symptoms because they have restricted blood flow to the legs or the limbs. You can have painful limbs, or you can have restricted blood flow to the kidneys, which can result in kidney failure.”

Risk Factors

Preventable risk factors for atherosclerosis include hypertension, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity, he said.

The things that you can do to minimize atherosclerosis, according to Dr. Bourell, include:

• Taking medications to keep your cholesterol in the normal range
• Not smoking
• Eating a diet rich in vegetables and low in processed foods

Emergencies

Medical emergencies involving clogged arteries have some typical warning signs, Dr. Bourell said.

“In the case of a heart attack, you can develop chest pain, shortness of breath, and arm, shoulder or back pain, although some people don’t have pain at all; people can come in with silent heart attacks,” he said. “In the case of a stroke, you may notice neurological changes, such as loss of strength, especially on one side of the body, an inability to speak or slurred speech, or lack of coordination and difficulty walking.”

If you notice any of these symptoms of heart attack or stroke, you or someone nearby should call 911 immediately. The treatment for these things is time sensitive, Dr. Bourell stressed.

“If you present too late, it affects what we can do. You may not be a candidate for the clot-busting drugs if you come in too late with a stroke,” he said. “Depending on the type of heart attack, you may have irreversible loss of cardiac muscle if you come in too late. So, time is really of the essence.”

Prevention of these life-altering events is the wisest thing people can do, especially through changes in diet, he said.

“I recommend to all my patients that you make sure that your blood pressure is under control, your cholesterol is under control, that you don’t smoke and that you adhere to a healthy diet. We don’t eat enough vegetables in this country and patients need to eat more of them. If you do nothing else, just try to eat more vegetables and less of processed foods.”