Q) My totalcholestrol :131mg/dl, hdl: 53mg/dl, ldl:63mg/dl . i am not diabatic and BP is normal. still i under went angioplasty last year and five stents have been put. cariologist says i have calcium deposits in arteries causing blocks . how can i prevent this. pl explain & advise
A) Hello,
Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease, is a condition in which plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply your heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood.
Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis.
Plaque narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow to your heart muscle. It also makes it more likely that blood clots will form in your arteries. Blood clots can partially or completely block blood flow.
All the patients may not have all these risk factors and all those with the risk factors may not develop the diseaase
In general the more risk factors you have, the greater chance you have of developing CAD.
- Unhealthy blood cholesterol levels. This includes high LDL cholesterol (sometimes called bad cholesterol) and low HDL cholesterol (sometimes called good cholesterol).
- High blood pressure. Blood pressure is considered high if it stays at or above 140/90 mmHg over a period of time.
- Smoking. This can damage and tighten blood vessels, raise cholesterol levels, and raise blood pressure. Smoking also doesn't allow enough oxygen to reach the body's tissues.
- Insulin resistance. This condition occurs when the body can't use its own insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that helps move blood sugar into cells where it's used.
- Diabetes. This is a disease in which the body's blood sugar level is high because the body doesn't make enough insulin or doesn't use its insulin properly.
- Overweight or obesity. Overweight is having extra body weight from muscle, bone, fat, and/or water. Obesity is having a high amount of extra body fat.
- Metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors linked to overweight and obesity that raise your chance for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke.
- Lack of physical activity. Lack of activity can worsen other risk factors for CAD.
- Age. As you get older, your risk for CAD increases. Genetic or lifestyle factors cause plaque to build in your arteries as you age. By the time you're middle-aged or older, enough plaque has built up to cause signs or symptoms.
- In men, the risk for CAD increases after age 45.
- In women, the risk for CAD risk increases after age 55.
- Family history of early heart disease. Your risk increases if your father or a brother was diagnosed with CAD before 55 years of age, or if your mother or a sister was diagnosed with CAD before 65 years of age.
Although age and a family history of early heart disease are risk factors, it doesn't mean that you will develop CAD if you have one or both.
Making lifestyle changes and/or taking medicines to treat other risk factors can often lessen genetic influences and prevent CAD from developing, even in older adults.
Other risk factors:
High levels of a protein called C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood, sleep apnea, stress and alcohol.