|
The causes of coronary artery disease
Cardiovascular illnesses do not have a single cause!
For men and women, the risk factors accumulate
to create the disease.
They are accelerators of the formation of atheroma.
 We are used to a different reasoning when dealing with infectious diseases:
a microbe = an illness! Here several factors may cause your arteries to deteriorate.
What is a cardiovascular risk factor?
It is quite simply a personal characteristic that makes you more likely to suffer
a cardiovascular accident some day.
Risk factors have been identified by epidemiological studies; these
studies have looked into the lifestyles (smoking, sport, diet…) and the state
of health (weight, blood pressure, cholesterol) of very many people based on
a questionnaire and medical examinations. They were then followed up for several
years
to see what happened to each of them.
This has resulted in the availability of detailed information about the antecedents
in terms of state of health and lifestyles of people who have suffered a cardiovascular accident compared to those who have not.
Comparisons can also be made between what happened to people who smoked compared to those who did not,
between the overweight and the slim, etc.
The lipids profile is composed of the
levels of four kinds of fats present in the blood: LDL-cholesterol (also known
as ‘bad cholesterol’), HDL-cholesterol (also known as ‘good
cholesterol’), total cholesterol and triglycerides. When these figures
are abnormal, it is the doctor who must adapt the person’s diet and treatment,
often with the help of a dietician.
Atheroma
 Atheroma
is a fatty deposit (cholesterol). The combination of atheroma and fibrosis (sclerosis)
characterises atherosclerosis.
The combination of cholesterol, cells
and calcium eventually results in the formation of atheromatous plaques on the
artery walls. These plaques reduce the interior diameter of the arteries and
gradually obstruct them.
However, an atheromatous plaque may not always develop
gradually, it can also rupture suddenly. When the plaque ruptures, the blood-clotting
process is triggered. It starts with specific blood cells, called platelets,
accumulating at the rupture point.
The platelets and the fatty content of the
plaque can then become detached and block an artery with a smaller diameter,
which is what is called an embolism. Or a blood clot can form on the plaque itself
and suddenly block the artery; this is known as thrombosis.
The formation of atheromatous plaques is a form of ageing of the arteries. The
combination of atheroma and fibrosis (sclerosis) characterises atherosclerosis.
The atheromatous plaques, above all when they rupture, cause most cardiovascular
accidents, either by obstructing an artery where plaque is situated, or because
of an embolism of vessels in an artery located further along the bloodstream.
This can occur in a coronary artery (acute coronary syndrome), in a cerebral
artery (ischaemic cerebrovascular accident) or in the artery of a limb (acute
ischaemia of a limb).
|
