What Is Arteriosclerosis
(DR.SAJEEV VASUDEVAN)
The term arteriosclerosis refers to several diseases that involve arteries of different sizes, and different layers of the walls of the arteries. From Greek words meaning "hardening of the arteries," the term originally signified the tendency of arteries to become hard and brittle through the deposition of calcium in their walls. This is not an important characteristic of the most familiar form of arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, which involves the buildup of fatty deposits in the lining of large and medium-sized arteries. Atherosclerosis can lead to coronary heart disease, strokes, and other disorders brought about by the tendency of blood clots to form in arteries already damaged or narrowed by plaque; hardening of the arteries occurs only in advanced stages. A second form of the disease is medial, or M?nckeberg's, sclerosis, which involves calcium buildup in the medial layer of arteries in the extremities, leading to higher blood pressure. A third form of the disease is arteriolar sclerosis, involving the inner and medial layers of small arteries, which can decrease the blood flow to the limbs, eyes, and internal organs supplied by these smaller arteries. A sign of possible arteriosclerosis is high blood pressure, or hypertension; conversely, hypertension can aggravate arteriosclerosis. Although arteriosclerotic drugs are on the market, physicians aim at preventing the disease by treating the causative factors, which include hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, and obesity.
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