created magnet for LDL, platelets, and others cells. As a result these tend to build up and cause a bulge in the wall of the arteries. As the plaques accumulate in the artery walls, there elasticity and their ability to expand and contract, restricting blood flow. Therefore, once narrow by a plaque, an artery is vulnerable to blockage by blood clots which, risks life-threatening clots and heart attacks due to the fibrous cap covering a plaque ruptures. (pg. 421)
In addition, if the heart, brain, and other organs are deprived of blood and oxygen it carries, the effects of atherosclerosis can be deadly.
This then affects the coronary arteries which, supply the heart with blood, are particularly susceptible where to plaque buildup a condition called Coronary Heart Disease.(pg.421) The blockage of coronary artery causes heart attacks, and blockage of cerebral artery (leading to the brain) causing a stroke. The blockage of an artery in a limb causes peripheral arterial disease, a condition that causes pain and may require amputation of the affected limb.(pg. 421) Furthermore, the main risk factors atherosclerosis are tobacco use or abuse, physical inactivity, high blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Another thing that is interesting is that atherosclerosis often begins in childhood: autopsy studies young child victims have revealed atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries and adolescents. (pg.421) Finally, I am going to start making a change in my life and start exercising and try to eat my fruits and
vegetables.