How to prevent arterial plaque from falling off

The so-called plaque is actually a manifestation of atherosclerosis. When lipids are deposited and aggregated in the vascular endothelium under the influence of various factors, they will appear as a yellow atherosclerosis in the intima of the blood vessels, hence the name atherosclerosis. When lipid deposits increase, a large number of macrophages will rush to engulf these substances, and when they reach a certain limit, macrophages will die and accumulate in the atherosclerotic area, forming a lipid mass, which is called plaque.

The outside of the plaque is surrounded by a membrane, and this envelope is called the fibrous cap, and it is this fibrous cap that determines whether the plaque is stable, and whether it is stable or not, determines whether there will be an acute vascular event.

The most important thing to prevent plaque from shedding is to turn unstable soft plaques and mixed plaques into stable hard plaques. We want to do the following.

1. Lifestyle intervention, light diet, eat more vegetables and fruits, control oil intake, quit smoking and limit alcohol, and strengthen exercise.

2. Strictly control blood sugar and blood pressure, abnormal blood sugar and blood pressure are important risk factors for atherosclerosis and plaque formation, so it is necessary to control fasting blood sugar below as much as possible, blood sugar below 2 hours after meals, and blood pressure below 120 80mmHg as much as possible.

3. Control the blood lipid level, which is the most fundamental, if the blood lipid is well controlled, the increase of plaque will become very slow, and the relative risk of rupture will be reduced. Studies have shown that controlling LDL cholesterol below and HDL cholesterol above can effectively control plaque enlargement. If necessary, antiplatelet aggregation drugs such as aspirin may be used to reduce the occurrence of associated acute events.

Pay attention to "Haoyang Doctor Talks Health" to learn more about medical knowledge. Arterial plaque is the most common and important type of arterial vascular disease, which can occur in various parts of the arterial system, and is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke. For example, if a plaque in the carotid artery ruptures suddenly, the detached plaque can enter the cerebral blood vessels, causing cerebral vascular embolism, leading to stroke.

Therefore, once arterial plaque is found, it is critical to prevent the arterial plaque from falling off. In addition to controlling blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids, the following four aspects are the most important. First, eat a sensible diet An unhealthy diet is one of the risk factors for the formation of plaque in the arteries.

Whether or not there is arterial plaque, it is important to maintain a healthy diet. The total energy intake per day is suitable to ensure the needs of daily activities and prevent excessive energy accumulation, and carbohydrates account for about 50% to 65% of the total energy; Fat intake should not exceed 20% 30%, including saturated fatty acids 10% cholesterol intake 300g; Protein 10% 15%. You can appropriately increase the intake of fresh vegetables and fruits to supplement a variety of vitamins and minerals.

Second, maintain a healthy weight Both overweight and obesity can lead to abnormalities in blood lipids, which can cause the formation of arterial plaque. A healthy weight is best between, with a waist circumference of 90cm for men and 85cm for women. In addition to controlling it through a sensible diet, it is also necessary to keep exercising.

It is recommended to do 30 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise 5 to 7 days a week, such as jogging, brisk walking, cycling, etc. It would be better if you could interval resistance exercises such as push-ups and pull-ups. Third, quit smoking and limit alcohol Smoking is a very important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, even secondhand smoke is very harmful, so quitting smoking is the first thing smokers should do.

In addition, heavy alcohol consumption is also an important cause of arterial plaque rupture, and it is recommended to drink 25ml of alcohol (alcohol content) per day for men and 15ml for women. Fourth, statins Statins are the main drugs for arterial plaque. If arterial plaque is found to be 50% narrowing, a statin should be used immediately**, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) should be kept below and, if there are no contraindications such as gastrointestinal bleeding, aspirin should be used to prevent plaque rupture; When stenosis is 50%, statins and aspirin should also be decided based on the presence or absence of cardiovascular disease and risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as obesity, smoking and hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, etc.

After the above drugs and non-drugs**, it can effectively prevent further growth of plaque, and may even shrink plaque to a certain extent. The truth is simple, but the most important thing is to persevere! Thanks for reading, I hope my sharing can help you.

I am Dr. Haoyang, focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of common and frequent diseases, chronic disease management, and health science. Welcome to pay attention to "Haoyang Doctor Talks about Health" to learn more about medical knowledge. Disclaimer:

Many people may not have heard of carotid plaque. Carotid plaque (carotid plaque) is actually a type of plaque that appears in people's carotid arteries and can cause a lot of damage to the human body. Because the carotid artery is very important to the human body.

These blood vessels promote blood circulation in the brain and contribute to brain health, so if you know that plaque in the carotid arteries can cause so much damage, how can people prevent it?

One, no smoking.

Nowadays, many men like to smoke, and smoking is also addictive. Smoking is highly addictive. If you smoke for a long time, you should quit smoking as much as possible so that it can help your health, tobacco contains a lot of nicotine.

This ingredient invades certain organs of the human body, and regular smoking is also prone to carotid artery spots.

Second, go to the hospital regularly for physical examination.

During the physical examination in the hospital, various indicators of the body can be checked. Through these indicators, you can know exactly what is good and what is not in your body. If there is a problem with the body, you can accept it in time**, or you can get better faster.

Ultimately, early disease is better than late disease and can be**.

Third, pay attention to your diet.

Try not to eat low-fat, low-calorie, high-fat, high-calorie foods and eat more green fruits and vegetables. These foods not only replenish the nutrients needed by the body, but also strengthen the body's resistance. It is also of great help in preventing carotid plaque.

Because most vegetables and fruits contain vitamins and trace elements, they can play a role in preventing carotid plaque. Try not to eat spicy and greasy foods. Because eating spicy and greasy food will cause carotid artery spots to be further aggravated, carotid artery spots cannot be prevented, the body's metabolic burden increases, the body's blood becomes more viscous, and blood vessels become more narrow.

Fourth, maintain a normal weight.

If you are overweight,** you should keep your body weight within the normal range, so that carotid plaque can be well prevented. In particular, you should pay more attention to the abdomen, and if the circumference of the abdomen is relatively large, you should reduce the abdomen.

What are the dangers of carotid plaque?

The danger of carotid plaque is not that part of the carotid artery is blocked after plastic surgery, but the most important danger is unstable carotid plaque. Refers to the embolization of blood vessels along the bloodstream to organs such as the brain or heart. In addition, myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease can induce diseases such as arteriosclerosis of the lower limbs.

Studies have shown that whenever the thickness of the carotid intima-media exceeds millimeters, the probability of myocardial infarction is 10% 15% higher than that of cerebral hemorrhage, and the probability of cerebral hemorrhage is 13% 18% higher. In particular, the echoic soft plaques found by ultrasound are unstable plaques and are more likely to cause cerebral hemorrhage.

The best prevention of arterial plaque is to actively maintain high blood pressure, oral hypertension drugs to maintain blood pressure at a healthy level, and try to improve the disease of high blood lipids, because if the blood is viscous, it will be easy to form arterial plaque.

It can be prevented in the following ways:1What we can change is our habits, so getting rid of bad habits is the most important part of prevention!

2.What we can improve is that controlling underlying diseases, controlling blood pressure and blood sugar levels, losing weight, and losing fat are important factors in reducing atherosclerosis! 3.

Of course, we can't change our age, gender, personality and genes! In the face of these constant factors, we need to take them in stride. 4.

Therefore, lifestyle changes are most important to prevent carotid plaque formation, including quitting smoking, limiting alcohol, limiting cholesterol, increasing exercise, weight control, and eating a low-salt and low-fat diet. Including other bad habits, including staying up late, being late, being tired, etc.

If there is plaque in the arterial blood vessels, if it is not active**, it may cause the plaque to fall off and form a blood clot, which will eventually block the arterial blood vessels, and also cause the occurrence of arterial stenosis. At present, it is mainly used to stabilize plaque drugs and antiplatelet agglutination drugs**, so as to avoid the increase of arterial plaque area. Commonly used medications are simvastatin and aspirin.

For patients with severe arterial stenosis, interventional surgery may also be an option**. Try to maintain a low-fat and light diet in daily life, and prohibit the consumption of high-fat foods.

Doctor's advice: first of all, we should maintain a healthy lifestyle, smoke and drink less, stay up late, exercise more, and maintain a good mood; Secondly, you should pay attention to monitoring your body, blood pressure, heart rate, etc., and adjust it in time if you find any abnormalities, and seek medical attention in time if it is serious.

For some existing plaques, it is necessary to follow the doctor's instructions to take aspirin and statins, which can effectively prevent myocardial infarction and cerebral infarction.

In our daily life, we should take care of our blood vessels as much as possible and reduce some harmful factors, such as a light diet, not excessive oiliness and high salinity, which is the first step to take care of vascular health. Secondly, we should develop good sleep habits, give ourselves enough time to rest, exercise and exercise more, and eat a low-salt and low-fat diet; It is necessary to quit smoking, limit alcohol, exercise appropriately, control weight for obese people, avoid exertion, and maintain a good spirit and mentality.

Usually reduce the intake of foods that are particularly high in calories, high in sugar, heavy in oil and salt, and usually limit yourself to foods such as fried chicken, French fries, burgers, and animal offal. Eat healthy and low-fat foods, make a balanced nutritional combination, and ensure a diversified intake. Eat more fruits and vegetables rich in fiber, such as spinach, broccoli, kelp, etc., but also eat enough protein, add lean meat and eggs to the diet, and don't eat too much high-cholesterol meat.

Control the intake of lipids to effectively prevent the formation of plaque in the arteries.

Can a person with carotid plaque still run? Can plaque detachment clog blood vessels? Carotid plaques are small and stable, and can be used for appropriate physical activity such as running, swimming, etc., as well as a low-fat diet.

If the carotid plaque is large and unstable, you can only choose non-strenuous exercise such as walking, and generally speaking, it will not fall off due to the impact of water or running and other exercises. If the blockage is more than 70%, there will be insufficient blood supply to the brain, headache, dizziness, and if the plaque falls off, it will block the cerebral blood vessels, forming hemiplegia or sensory impairment of the limbs.

At this time, try not to run, you can choose to exercise by brisk walking; In general, plaque detachment will lead to blockage of blood vessels, and it means that the state of arteriosclerosis is more serious, which is a more dangerous situation.

The plaque in our blood vessels is also due to long-term unhealthy life and genetic factors, as well as the three highs are not controlled, etc., which eventually leads to the accumulation of lipid-like substances in the blood vessels, and over time, this accumulation, more and more, will form plaque. This plaque is formed over a long period of time, little by little, and it grows together with the inner wall of the blood vessels, and it is not so easy to say that it falls off. So this carotid plaque, it won't fall off because of our daily running.

Be sure to exercise reasonably, and it is best not to do strenuous exercise at will, in which case it may indeed lead to blockage of blood vessels.