Stay Involved to Improve Your Health - By Dr. Edward Ragsdale

ALTON, IL -- I have been saddened by the loss of four friends in recent months – three of them in their 60s who died rather suddenly. Three heart attacks and perhaps a stroke in the fourth were responsible. The underlying cause was arteriosclerosis.

Arteriosclerosis is hardening and narrowing of the arteries. It’s a significant cause of aging and death. Plaque build-up in the arteries causes narrowing. The plaque is composed of cholesterol, fat, fibrin, calcium and other materials. Blood clots can form on the plaque and block arteries, or pieces of plaque could break off and occlude downstream arteries.

These produce heart attacks, strokes and other diseases – depending on the location.

Two years ago I attended a conference on advanced radiological imaging of arteries. One of the presentations involved an experimental PET-CT machine that showed high detail of plaques in the carotid arteries of the neck. The metabolic activity as well as the shape and size of the plaques were measured. Metabolically active plaques are more likely to grow and could potentially cause strokes.

Fifty patients with active plaques (inflammation) were placed on statin drugs such as Lipitor or Crestin and were studied again one year later. None of those patients showed growth of the plaques and a few showed a decrease in size. None of the plaques remained active after a year of statin treatment. The statins reduced the patients’ cholesterol as well as inflammation associated with the plaques.

Low-dose aspirin can reduce the likelihood of intravascular clot formation. High blood cholesterol contributes to plaque formation. This is related to heredity, fat in the diet, obesity and lack of exercise.

Other risk factors for arteriosclerosis are age, family history, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking and heavy alcohol use.

Smoking one pack daily can reduce your life expectancy by roughly 10 years. This is the single largest preventable cause of disease. Quitting smoking will reduce this risk significantly.

High blood pressure is known as the silent killer. Hypertension stresses the heart and arteries. It can cause hemorrhage in the brain and other sites. Blood pressure more than 140/90 is cause for concern and treatment.

Dr. Michael Roizen, chairman of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, has identified 191 factors that affect your real age and how long you can live. Of those, 149 of them can be controlled by us.

A healthy lifestyle with appropriate exercise including weight, blood pressure and cholesterol control can greatly benefit you and your family. Discuss your health with your doctor in detail. I strongly recommend that you become involved with your own health and become as healthy as possible.

Dr. Edward Ragsdale is a radiologist on staff at Alton Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Ragsdale

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