It Is The Plaques In Heart Blood Vessels That Cause Heart Attack
Monday, February 1st, 2010Chest pain may be due to partial blockage of blood circulation or complete obstruction of blood supply to the heart muscle resulting in extensive heart muscle damage. High cholesterol is one of the most important predictive risk factors of coronary artery disease. It leads to plaque formation in heart blood vessels that blocks circulation. This is known as a heart attack.
The main cause for a heart attack is plaque rupture with clot formation, restricting the blood flow to the heart. Some of the known factors leading to plaque rupture include thin fibrous cap, large lipid-rich core, and inflammatory cells. Two-thirds of those with acute heart attack have blockage of less than 50 percent. There is less than 75 percent blockage in more than 90 percent of heart attack cases, suggesting plaque rupture leads to heart attacks.
Recent studies have shown that inflammation of the inner layer of blood vessels leads to vessel injury and plaque vulnerability. During autopsies multiple layers of atherosclerotic plaque is observed frequently, suggesting an ongoing process of rupturing and healing as one mechanism of atherosclerosis progression. As these plaques age, calcification forms over like multiple eggshell layers which are resistant to rupture. Cardiovascular events usually occur as a consequence of disruption of a vulnerable plaque. High cholesterol and cigarette smoking have been shown to be directly associated with plaque instability and disruption. Lowering cholesterol stabilizes plaque.