High cholesterol, also known as atherosclerosis, is a disease that occurs when plaque builds up inside the arteries. Arteries are the blood vessels responsible for carrying oxygenated blood from the heart to the tissues of the body. Building up cholesterol in the arteries will restrict the flow of oxygenated blood to the other body parts. As a result, the part of the human body receiving insufficiently oxygenated blood will start to function improperly. So, you can say, the symptoms of atherosclerosis depend on the location of the body part where it occurs.
What Is Atherosclerosis?
Atherosclerosis is a health condition in which the arteries become hard, making it difficult for the heart to supply oxygenated blood to the other body parts with ease. This consequently, increases the risk of the most common heart complications like heart attack and strokes.
People diagnosed with atherosclerosis should remember these points:-
- Atherosclerosis has been found to occur more commonly in people with high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol intake, and also smokers.
- The initial atherosclerosis symptoms include pain or cramps in the chest or legs.
- Atherosclerosis is so common in the U.S that it has become the leading cause of the illness among U.S citizens.
- There are ways to treat atherosclerosis, but not completely. Even if it is done, there are complications associated with the treatment. In simple words, the damage cannot be reversed completely like before.
What Are The Ways To Prevent Atherosclerosis?
Atherosclerosis when it gets severe cannot be treated completely. The damage cannot be reversed. Therefore, it is better to prevent as much as possible:-
Diet: Fats play a vital role in the development of atherosclerosis. Therefore doctors recommend avoiding consuming saturated fats as they increase the level of bad cholesterol. The foods that are mentioned below are rich in saturated fats and can keep the level of bad cholesterol low.
- Olive oil
- Avocados
- Walnuts
- Oily fish
- Nuts
- Seeds
Exercise: Regular exercise can improve the flow of blood, fitness level, weight loss, and lower blood pressure.
No Smoking: Smoking increases the risk of developing atherosclerosis because it increases blood pressure. People who smoke should quit smoking and do not forget to consult a doctor to overcome its harmful effects.
Avoid self-medication: People with atherosclerosis initially may not face symptoms but may experience complications. As they face complications before symptoms, they sometimes try to self-medicate, assuming it to be some other complication. For example, men with atherosclerosis sometimes face difficulty with erection. Being awkward, they try to self-medicate with pills like Cenforce 100.
Self-medicating in any way, including Cenforce 100, can be harmful. Cenforce 100 affects the blood flow rate and, consequently, the heart and worsens men with cardiovascular disease like atherosclerosis.
What Are The Possible Ways To Treat Atherosclerosis?
Healthy lifestyle and a healthy diet is the initial step towards atherosclerosis treatment. However, depending on the condition of the patient, the doctor may recommend some form of the following possible treatment.
Healthy lifestyle: The term ‘healthy lifestyle’ means weight management to reduce the risk of developing any health complications, consistent physical activity to improve the internal functioning of the body, a healthy diet to repair and reproduce new cells for growth, and quality sleep, a process that involves the building of new cells.
A healthy diet involves foods rich in soluble fibres and eliminates saturated fats, sodium, and alcohol.
Medication: Antiplatelet drugs prevent the development of plaque or help in avoiding blood clotting. This group of medicine will keep the artery vessel clear. While other medications like statins are prescribed to reduce the level of cholesterol and angiotensin-converting enzyme(ACE) inhibitors in order to lower blood pressure.
Surgery: When medication and a healthy lifestyle don’t work, surgery is the other option, such as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG).
- Angioplasty and stenting is a medical procedure in which the artery is expanded to clear the blockage and increase the blood flow rate.
The surgery involves the insertion of a thin tube into an artery of the area of blockage. The area of the blockage is detected through an X-ray screen.
Coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG) is a surgical procedure that redirects the blood flow through the blocked area in the heart. The motive of the surgery is to cut a piece of artery from the leg, arm, or chest and connect it in parallel to the blocked artery, it can be below or above. This new pathway improves the blood flow but doesn’t cure the disease, it only lowers the symptoms and risk of complications.
Some medications are prescribed after the surgery in order to lower the complications due to the surgery.
Other Medicines
Depending on the complications of atherosclerosis(if any), the doctor may prescribe additional medicines. For example, men with atherosclerosis may have complications like erection difficulty. Therefore, the doctor may prescribe medications for it as well, Sildenafil Citrate containing medicines like Viagra or Cenforce 100. Medicines like Cenforce 100 work by increasing the blood flow rate through the penis. As Cenforce 100 contains Sildenafil, it interacts with the nitrate group of medicines that are often prescribed to blood pressure patients.
However, Cenforce 100 affects the blood flow rate and, consequently, the heart, but the doctor will prescribe it as per the severity. The same goes with other complications as well, depending on the complications, the doctor will prescribe you the combination treatment.
