Normal value of arteriosclerosis

Arteriosclerosis, also known as atherosclerosis, has a normal value. If the arteriosclerosis index is too high, it is very likely that the patient will suffer from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and there is a high probability that the patient will experience symptoms such as palpitations, chest tightness, dizziness, headache and discomfort, which will pose a great threat to the patient's health. So, what is the normal value of arteriosclerosis?

1. What is the normal arteriosclerosis index?

The atherosclerosis index is an indicator for measuring the degree of atherosclerosis established by the international medical community. The normal value of the arterial stiffness index is less than 4. If the value is smaller, the degree of arteriosclerosis is milder and the probability of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases is lower. On the other hand, if the arteriosclerosis index is greater than 4, that is, hardened arteries occur, the larger the value, the more severe the hardened arteries are and the higher the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

2. Calculation method of arteriosclerosis index

Arteriosclerosis index (AI) = [total cholesterol (TC) - high-density lipoprotein (HDL)] ÷ high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

The normal value is 4. If a person's arteriosclerosis index is 4, it reflects that the degree of arteriosclerosis is not serious or is in relief. The value means that the degree of arteriosclerosis is milder, resulting in a low risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. If the arteriosclerosis index is greater than or equal to 4, the arteries have undergone hardening. The higher the value, the more severe the degree of atherosclerosis in the large arteries, and the higher the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

3. What are the signs of arteriosclerosis?

For patients with early-stage arteriosclerosis, most patients have almost no clinical symptoms and the disease develops latently. For patients with mid-stage arteriosclerosis, most of them have more or less clinical symptoms such as palpitations, heart palpitations, chest pain, chest tightness, headache, dizziness, cold and numb limbs, sore limbs, lameness, decreased vision, memory loss, insomnia, and nightmares. Different patients will have different symptoms. At this time, many routine medical examinations such as electrocardiogram, blood lipids, blood rheology, electroencephalogram, cerebral blood volume, etc., could not reveal any pathological problems.

Most clinical physicians let patients ignore the issue and think it is not a big deal, and then let it go. This made the patient even more seriously ill. For patients with advanced arteriosclerosis, most have already developed diseases such as angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and hypertension, which can be easily detected through routine medical examinations. At this time, clinical physicians prescribe many lipid-lowering, blood pressure-lowering, and myocardial oxygen and energy supply-increasing drugs for symptomatic treatment. For example, patients with hypertension are asked to take antihypertensive drugs all year round, and patients with hyperlipidemia are asked to take lipid-lowering drugs all year round. These are powerless to reverse the lesions. As time goes by, the lesions will eventually worsen day by day until they are terminally ill and die. It is really “it is never too late to mend”.

Common causes of arteriosclerosis

Diet: The higher the saturated fatty acid content in the diet, the higher the cholesterol concentration in the blood, which is more likely to deposit on the inner walls of the arteries, and therefore more likely to cause atherosclerosis.

Hypertension: Patients with hypertension have high pressure on the artery walls, which makes the intima easily damaged. When the intima is damaged, fat particles are more likely to deposit in the arterial intima, forming atherosclerotic plaques, which eventually lead to thickening and hardening of the artery walls.

Diabetes: People with diabetes will have problems with fat metabolism. The proteins that transport fat in the blood (called lipoproteins) will denature, and during the transportation process, fat will easily deposit on the inner walls of blood vessels to form fatty plaques.

High cholesterol: Atherosclerosis is common in hypercholesterolemia. Giving experimental animals a high-cholesterol diet can induce atherosclerosis.

Smoking: Smoking can cause an increase in nicotine and carbon monoxide in the blood, which can cause central artery spasm, increased platelet adhesion, slower blood flow, and accumulation of oxygen free radicals. Smoking can also cause direct damage to vascular endothelial cells, leading to cholesterol deposition.