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Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease refers to diseases of the heart and circulation and is the number one killer of Americans, both men and women. In the past cardiovascular disease was thought to be due to either a faulty heart or damaged arteries that supply the heart. We now know that heart attack, stroke, and impaired circulation to the arms, legs & internal organs are due to disorders of the blood itself.

Cardiovascular disease results when imbalances in the blood lead to deposits of fat, cholesterol and inflammatory debris in the wall of the arteries. We call these deposits plaque. The formation of plaque begins at a young age. Autopsy studies show that about 20 percent of children under the age of ten already have visible plaque formation in their arteries. The more risk factors these children had (poor diet, being overweight, exposure to second-hand smoke, a family history of cardiovascular disease), the more plaque formation was found.

As plaque grows, it becomes very much like a pimple on your skin. As pimples grow, they first form a whitehead, and then become inflamed or infected. Then the pimples burst, or rupture. Plaque in the arteries behaves in a very similar way.  These plaques grow and then form a sort of a whitehead, and then become inflamed and rupture.

When plaque in the wall of the artery ruptures, however, this causes a serious catastrophe. If the plaque rupture occurs in the heart, a heart attack occurs. If the plaque happens to be in an artery leading the brain, the result is a brain attack, or stroke. Similar catastrophes can occur in arteries leading to the arms and legs, kidneys, and other internal organs.

Once a plaque in the artery ruptures, this begins the process of clotting of the blood in the area of the ruptured plaque. The clot is what blocks off blood flow in the artery, not the plaque itself. This is the reason why the treatment for any of these catastrophes involves trying to break up or somehow remove this clot from the artery. Hence the use of clot-busting drugs (like tPA and others), "roto-rooter" treatments (angioplasty and atherectomy) or even surgery . This is also one of the reasons that aspirin is a preventive measure; aspirin interferes with clot formation.

Click here to learn about the blood imbalances that lead to cardiovascular disease.