by Ry Moore

Created on: April 02, 2008   Last Updated: May 13, 2008

Arteriosclerosis (atherosclerosis)is the process in which deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products,and calcium build up in the inner lining of an artery. Especially those arteries that lead to the limbs, heart, and brain. The affects of this hardening are generally felt as the body reaches its third or fourth decade.

Arteriosclerosis begins with damage to the innermost layer of the artery (endothelium). The deposits of cellular waste, fatty substances and cholesterol cling to the artery walls and harden as plaque. The plaque grows slowly, but can grow large enough to significantly reduce the amount of blood flowing through an artery. When the plaque gets too big it becomes fragile and ruptures. Plaques that rupture cause blood clots to form, which in turn further reduce the blood flow; or may themselves break off and travel to another part of the body.

SYMPTOMS?
Arteriosclerosis is a "thief in the night" disease. Typically there are no signs or symptoms of its presence until the 11th hour, when you get that tightening pain in the chest, that sudden numbness in the arms, or even the legs suddenly goes limp. Arteriosclerosis is a "life style disease." People create the environment for its occurrence by the way they live and eat. Highly sedentary living with poor dietary consumption patterns is as prone to its affliction as smokers and diabetics. Arteriosclerosis is also a "high risk genetic" disease. People (especially the males) with a family history of premature cardiovascular disease have an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis.

A routine annual physical examination may able to readily detect signs of narrowed, enlarged or hardened arteries. Such signs will include a weak or absent pulse below the narrowed area of your artery; any decrease in the blood pressure of an affected limb; a whooshy sound as blood struggles in the arteries; an unusual bulge in the stomach or the behind the knee; and/or some indication that wounds are healing poorly.

The earliest symptoms, noticeable without a proper medical examination, will occur at the point where an artery is so narrowed or clogged that it can't supply adequate blood to your organs and tissues; or the clotting of blood is severe enough to completely obstructs blood flow altogether. Narrowing blood flow can cause the heart slow down or stop, producing chest pain [angina], perhaps shortness of breath [heart attack] or other similar symptoms.

Chest pain is a sign that the coronary arteries

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