ASS.Lec. Suad Turky Ali Lec -10- AL-Ma’moon University College Medical Laberatory techniques Department Clinical biochemistry / / Second stage ASS.Lec. Suad Turky Ali Lec -10-

How Is Atherosclerosis Diagnosed? Your doctor will perform a physical exam if you have symptoms of atherosclerosis. They’ll check for: a weakened pulse an aneurysm, which is an abnormal bulging or widening of an artery due to weakness slow wound healing, which indicates a restricted blood flow A heart specialist called a cardiologist may listen to your heart to see if you have any abnormal sounds. They’ll be listening for a whooshing noise, which indicates that an artery is blocked. Your doctor will order more tests if they think you may have atherosclerosis. These tests can include:

a blood test to check your cholesterol levels a Doppler ultrasound, which uses sound waves to create a picture of the  artery that shows if there’s a blockage ankle-brachial index test, which looks for a blockage in your arms or legs by comparing the blood pressure in each limb magnetic resonance arteriography (MRA) or computed tomography angiography (CTA) to create pictures of the large arteries in your body cardiac angiogram, which requires an injection of a radioactive dye that can be seen on X-rays to create a picture of the arteries in your heart an electrocardiogram (EKG), which measures the electrical activity in your heart to look for any areas of decreased blood flow a stress test, or exercise tolerance test, which monitors your heart rate and blood pressure while you exercise on a treadmill or stationary bicycle

How Is Atherosclerosis Treated? Treatment involves changing your current lifestyle to one that limits the amount of fat and cholesterol you consume. You may need to exercise more to improve the health of your heart and blood vessels. You may also need additional medical treatments, such as: Medications Medications can help prevent atherosclerosis from worsening. Medications include: cholesterol-lowering medications, including statins and fibric acid derivatives antiplatelet drugs and anticoagulants, such as aspirin, to prevent blood from clotting and clogging your arteries beta blockers or calcium channel blockers to lower your blood pressure diuretics, or water pills, to help lower your blood pressure angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which help prevent narrowing of your arteries

Surgery In some cases, surgery may be necessary if symptoms are especially severe, or if muscle or skin tissue are endangered. Possible surgeries for treating atherosclerosis include: bypass surgery, which involves using a vessel from somewhere else in your body or a synthetic tube to divert blood around your blocked or narrowed artery thrombolytic therapy, which involves dissolving a blood clot by injecting a drug into your affected artery angioplasty, which involves using a thin, flexible tube called a catheter and a balloon to expand your artery endarterectomy, which involves surgically removing fatty deposits from your artery atherectomy, which involves removing plaque from your arteries by using a catheter with a sharp blade at one end Part 8 of 9: Outlook

What to Expect in the Long Term With treatment, you may see improvement in your health, but this may take time. The success of your treatment will depend on the severity of your condition, how promptly it was treated, and whether other organs were affected. Hardening of the arteries cannot be reversed, but treating the underlying cause and making healthy lifestyle and dietary changes can help slow down the process or prevent it from getting worse.  You should work closely with your doctor to make the appropriate lifestyle changes. You’ll also need to take the proper medications to control your condition and avoid complications. The complications of atherosclerosis include:

heart failure heart disease heart attack abnormal heart rhythm stroke peripheral artery disease, which reduces blood flow to your arms and legs kidney failure death  Part 9 of 9: Prevention

Nonmedical Treatment and Prevention Lifestyle changes can help to prevent as well as treat atherosclerosis. Unless your atherosclerosis is severe, your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes as the first line of treatment. Lifestyle changes include: eating a healthy diet that’s low in saturated fat and cholesterol avoiding fatty foods adding fish to your diet twice per week exercising for 30 to 60 minutes per day, six days per week quitting smoking if you’re a smoker losing weight if you’re overweight or obese managing stress treating conditions associated with atherosclerosis, such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes

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