What is Heart Disease or Atherosclerosis?
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Long viewed as the core of romance and courage the heart is more correctly identified as a pump. The heart is largely made up of muscle cells and relies almost exclusively upon aerobic energy metabolism. Heart muscle cells die in a short period of time (minutes) if they are deprived of oxygen. When cells in a region of the heart die, it is medically known as an infarction and is realized in the form of a heart attack. The medical term myocardial infarction (MI) means death of heart muscle cells. |
Diseases of the heart and cardiovascular system are many, but “heart disease” is the term most often used to address a condition in which atherosclerotic development in the arteries of the heart (coronary arteries) impedes blood flow within the heart itself. When blood flow through a coronary artery is inhibited, the region of the heart that it supplies suffers-in fact, when the condition becomes critical that tissue suffocates as it doesn’t get enough oxygen. This type of heart disease is called coronary heart disease (CHD), coronary artery disease (CAD) or atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD). Like many medical terms, atherosclerosis has its roots in the Greek language. Athero means gruel or paste and sclerosis means hardness.
What are the major components involved in atherosclerosis?
Atherosclerosis is a complex process with many players. The major players of atherosclerosis include:
- Lipoproteins
- Macrophages
- Platelets
- Smooth muscle cells
- Calcium based mineral complexes
- Connective tissue proteins.
What are macrophages?
Macrophages are derived from monocytes, which are a type of white blood cell. Remember that many white blood cells function by recognizing substances that are either foreign or no longer of use to the body and then facilitate its destruction. They are the protectors of the body, sort of “biological bodyguards” if you will.
Circulating monocytes normally leave the blood by squeezing through the wall of blood vessels and patrol the spaces in between the cells. While patrolling if monocytes come in contact with something that does not belong, they swell and engulf the material. These swollen, aggressive monocytes are referred to as macrophages which literally means big eater!
