Arteriosclerosis

What is arteriosclerosis?

Arteriosclerosis is the broad term for hard arteries, regardless of what caused them to harden. When they harden, your arteries can't effectively deliver blood to the body, leading to complications such as arteriosclerotic heart disease, stroke, and organ problems.
 

Types of arteriosclerosis

There are three types of arteriosclerosis:

• Atherosclerosis: The most common type, where fatty deposits called plaque build up inside larger arteries, eventually blocking blood flow. Atherosclerosis can lead to complications like heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, congestive heart failure, and cardiac arrest.
• Arteriolosclerosis: This type affects the small arteries, or arterioles, which thicken, often due to conditions like hypertension and diabetes. These smaller blood vessels help manage your blood pressure and carry blood to organs like your kidneys. When arterioles fail, organs may not receive adequate blood flow, leading to potential health complications.
• Medial arterial calcification: In this type of arteriosclerosis (also called Mönckeberg medial calcified sclerosis), calcium builds up in the middle layer of artery walls, making them hard. It is often associated with kidney failure and hemodialysis. It can lead to problems with blood flow and heart health.

Additionally, arteriosclerosis can also be classified based on where the hardening happens:

• Coronary artery disease: Hardening occurs in the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart.
• Peripheral artery disease: Hardening affects the arteries in the limbs or pelvis, usually leading to issues with blood flow in the legs.
• Carotid artery disease: Hardening occurs in the carotid arteries, which carry blood to the brain and can increase stroke risk.
• Aortic aneurysm: Hardening occurs in the aorta, the large artery that runs from the heart down to the pelvis, and can lead to weakening or bulging of the vessel.

Atherosclerosis vs. arteriosclerosis

People often use the terms atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis as if they were interchangeable, but there's a difference: atherosclerosis is one kind of arteriosclerosis. That means all atherosclerosis is arteriosclerosis, but not all arteriosclerosis is atherosclerosis.

Arteriosclerosis symptoms

Often, arteriosclerosis develops with no symptoms until it's progressed enough to be serious. When that happens, your symptoms may be signs of severe conditions, such as heart attack or stroke. Typical symptoms of arteriosclerosis include:

• Foot pain
• Leg pain
• Chest pain
• Racing or pounding heart (heart palpitations)
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness
• One-sided vision loss
• Vision problems

What is the impact of arteriosclerosis?

Complications of arteriosclerosis are often serious, even deadly. Heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, amputation, and pulmonary embolism are some of the severe complications that can arise from arteriosclerosis.

What causes arteriosclerosis?

We don't know exactly what causes all forms of arteriosclerosis. For example, atherosclerosis is caused by plaque build-up in the arteries. This process begins when fats, like lipid (LDL cholesterol), build up in the artery walls, attracting inflammatory cells that damage the artery. Over time, this damage allows more plaque to accumulate. The underlying causes of other forms, like arteriolosclerosis and Mönckeberg’s sclerosism are less clear and still being studied.

Arteriosclerosis diagnosis

Your doctor will begin with a physical exam and a conversation about any symptoms or risk factors that might indicate arteriosclerosis. If your doctor suspects you have the condition, they may order tests for arteriosclerosis, such as:

• Exercise stress tests: Exercise on a treadmill or on a stationary bicycle can identify the presence of low blood flow in the heart in many patients, indicating a potential blockage.
• Nuclear scans: Nuclear scans—like radionuclide angiography and myocardial perfusion—can measure the rate at which your heart moves blood and identify parts of your heart that don't get enough blood, which can be signs that your arteries aren't working as they should.
• Imaging: X-rays and CT scans can show blockages or coronary or artery calcification.
• Blood pressure differential: If blood pressure in your arms and legs is noticeably different, it may be a sign of blocked arteries.
• Cardiac catheterization: In some cases, testing may lead to cardiac catheterization, a procedure in which the doctor uses a thin tube inserted into your blood vessels to inject a dye that helps the X-ray better detect and potentially treat blockages in the same procedure.

Arteriosclerosis treatment

Depending on the severity of your arteriosclerosis, you may need:

• Lifestyle changes: Giving up tobacco, eating a heart-healthy diet, and getting more exercise can help by lowering your blood pressure, improving your blood glucose levels, and lowering cholesterol.
• Medication: You may treat your arteriosclerosis with medications that help improve your blood flow (such as blood pressure drugs and blood thinners) or reduce the likelihood of plaque build-up (like anti-platelet and cholesterol-lowering meds).
• Intervention or surgery: In severe cases, treatment may include percutaneous interventions, such as angioplasty or stenting, or, in some instances, surgery. Angioplasty is a procedure that widens the blood vessel to improve blood flow, and a stent (a small tube) may be placed to keep the artery open. For more complex cases, bypass surgery (also known as coronary artery bypass) may be needed. This surgery uses a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body to create a new path for blood to flow around the blockage.

FAQs about arteriosclerosis