You may think that atherosclerosis is just a disease whereby fat accumulates on the inner lining of your arteries. The fatter you eat, the more fat accumulates inside your arteries and the greater your chances of having a heart attack. This was what the medical community believed for many years, and it is still what the majority of the public believes. This is a very simplistic view, and we now know that atherosclerosis is a much more complex process.
Scientists have discovered that inflammation is involved in every stage of atherosclerosis, from the beginning when a fatty streak develops, right through to the end when the fatty plaque breaks off and causes a blood clot which blocks blood flow in an artery, causing a heart attack. Inflammation is the way our body responds to injury. We can usually tell a part of our body is inflamed when it is red, hot, swollen and we can’t move it properly. Think of a stubbed toe or a sprained ankle. Inflammation is present in all “itis” conditions, such as arthritis, hepatitis, bursitis, and many others. It is a normal reaction by our immune system to infection or injury. However, inflammation can also occur inside our body in a much more silent way, where we don’t even know it is happening.
Inflammation can trigger the release of substances into our bloodstream that damage the inner lining of arteries. Cholesterol in the bloodstream can then put a protective coating over this damage. Cholesterol has a healing, protective quality; large amounts of it are present in scar tissue. As the damage to our arteries gets worse, more cholesterol accumulates, the fatty plaque grows and our arteries narrow.
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