If you’re not prepared to take good care of your heart, several coronary heart ailments can happen. One of them is the hardening of the arteries or in medical terms, it is referred to as arteriosclerosis.It ofter appears along with high blood pressure.

The arteries are the blood vessels that carry the air and nutrients from the heart to the other parts of the body. Over time, these fat deposits in the arteries will turn into hardened which then leads to reduced blood supply of the organs in the body. When this is not properly dealt with, the arteries will become blocked blocked, resulting in tissue death which is often the case in heart attacks and stroke.

There are several factors that are affiliated with hardening of the arteries which are categorized into modifiable and non-modifiable. The non-modifiable factors are individuals which you are not able to change such as hereditary factors, advancing age, gender (male have a higher risk of developing hardening of the arteries than women) and race. For the modifiable factors, these are the ones that you can control which include cigarette smoking, obesity and lack of exercise, diet that is high in saturated fat, high blood pressure, diabetes and high ldl cholesterol levels.

The indicators or symptoms of hardening of the arteries depend on the location of the affected arteries. If it is located in the arteries that supply the coronary heart, you will normally expertise chest pain, profuse sweating, shortness of breath of air and anxiety. Arteries that supply blood to the brain when affected will be manifested through numbness or weakness, paralysis generally in one half of the body, loss of speech, blindness and difficulty when swallowing. For the ones that supply the legs, severe leg pain will be manifested which happens during walking and disappears when you stop. Kidney failure and high blood pressure are the manifestations when the arteries affected are the ones that supply the kidneys.

As to this date, there is no identified cure for hardening of the arteries but the indicators and effects can be treated. Medications for the signs and indicators or symptoms will be given such as anti-hypertensives, cholesterol decreaseing medications, diuretics and medications to handle the upper body pain. To re-open the artery when it is blocked, angioplasty is typically performed.

Even if there are non-modifiable factors for hardening of the arteries, you can do a lot to help reduce down your risks. Life style changes are warranted such as smoking cessation, having a balanced diet that is low in fat and cholesterol, having enough exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. Hardening of the arteries is a serious cardio vascular disorder so while you nonetheless can, you have to prevent it.