Care for your arteries!

It's not just bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) that's involved in the formation of fatty plaques.

We know that diabetes, hypertension, obesity, smoking, and excessive alcohol intake INCREASE CARDIOVASCULAR RISK. But what do these diseases or states have in common?

Oxidative stress is the common factor in all these diseases and many others such as cancer, degenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, and perhaps all pathologies.

Currently, ALL FACTORS that exacerbate oxidative stress, a negative balance between 'antioxidant production' versus 'free radical production,' directly or indirectly contribute to plaque formation because they act by generating inflammation in our endothelium (the internal lining of our arteries, recently considered the body's largest organ).

3) Vascular inflammation present, which can be assessed by several simple tests

4) Elevated blood glucose or insulin, whether or not associated with diabetes

5) Inability to synthesize nitric oxide, a substance produced in the endothelium. When the endothelium is inflamed, its synthesis decreases, contributing to the development of arterial hypertension

6) Excess estrogen in men, combined with low levels of free testosterone, decreases arterial elasticity, making them more rigid

7) Low estradiol (a type of estrogen) in women. This is why menopause should be treated as a potentially detrimental state for women's cardiovascular health.

Seek a preventive medical evaluation to change this picture, regardless of whether your genetics are good or bad for diseases.

“Invest time now to achieve health; otherwise, in the future, you will spend time treating diseases.”

Bentzon, J.F.; Otsuka, F.; Virmani, R.; Falk, E. Mechanisms of plaque formation and rupture. Circ. Res. 2014, 114, 1852–1866.

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