Atherosclerosis is a potentially serious condition where arteries become furred up and narrowed by fatty deposits, including cholesterol. These substances are called plaques or atheromas.
The plaques cause affected arteries to harden and narrow. This is potentially dangerous for two reasons:
- restricted blood flow can damage organs and stop them functioning properly. This can affect many organs, including the heart (ACS/angina).
- if a plaque ruptures, it can cause a blood clot that blocks the blood supply to the heart, triggering a myocardial infarction (MI/heart attack) or to the brain, triggering a stroke.
Artherosclerosis is a major risk factor for many conditions (cardiovascular disease) including the heart (coronary heart disease).
Stroke (arrow to brain): Stroke is due to an interruption of the blood flow to part of the brain. Effects will depend upon the part of the brain affected and the amount of damage.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) (arrow to heart): Coronary heart disease is caused when the coronary arteries become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty material within their walls.
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) (arrows to legs, renal and penis): Peripheral vascular disease is a narrowing of blood vessels that restricts blood flow. Both veins and arteries may be affected, but the disease is usually arterial. All the symptoms and consequences of peripheral vascular disease are related to restricted blood flow. This includes all of the tiny vessels within other organs including penis and kidneys. The symptoms of PVD include pain, muscle fatigue and erectile dysfunction.
Page last reviewed: 01 Jun 2020
