Can you have good blood pressure with clogged arteries

Blocked arteries can cause serious problems if they prevent blood from reaching vital parts of the body such as the heart or brain. However, the symptoms of blocked arteries aren’t always obvious until they cause a life-threatening issue such as a heart attack or stroke. Sometimes the only way to know if your arteries are clogged is to undergo a screening test such as a carotid Doppler ultrasound, which can check for blockages that might put you at risk of a stroke.

Why Do Arteries Get Clogged?

Clogged arteries occur because of a condition known as atherosclerosis, which happens when fatty material from the blood sticks to the inside of the arteries. Over time, enough of this material can build up that it starts to affect the flow of blood. The effects of this can depend on the location of the blockage. Clogged arteries can be particularly dangerous when they affect blood supplying the heart or brain as these organs need continuous supplies of oxygen to keep functioning properly.

Signs of Clogged Arteries

Clogged arteries don’t always cause any obvious symptoms so the problem is often missed unless it causes a medical emergency such as a heart attack or stroke. Sometimes there can be warning signs that an artery is blocked before it causes a serious event. Angina occurs when there is a blockage in a blood vessel supplying the heart. It can cause symptoms such as chest pain, breathlessness, heart palpitations and sweating, which may be triggered by physical activity. Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIAs) or mini-strokes can occur when there is a blockage affecting the brain. The symptoms can include temporary weakness on one side of your body, loss of vision in one eye, or slurred speech. Angina can be a sign that you are at risk of a heart attack while a TIA is a warning that you are at risk of a major stroke, so it is vital to take these symptoms seriously and see a doctor.

Tests for Clogged Arteries

Cardiac screening can reveal whether you are at risk of clogged arteries by testing for issues such as high cholesterol that can increase the chances of fatty deposits accumulating in your blood vessels. If you are at high risk, you’re experiencing issues such as angina, or you’ve already had a stroke or heart attack, then there are some tests that can look inside your arteries to check for blockages. At the Cardiac Screen clinic, we can use ultrasounds to look for signs of blockages. An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of your heart that can help us to assess the risk of heart disease while a carotid Doppler ultrasound allows us to measure the flow of blood through the arteries that supply your brain. The carotid Doppler scan is used to evaluate the risk of a stroke. If any issues are detected during these tests, treatment may help to improve the blood flow through your clogged arteries and reduce the risks.

All about blocked arteries

The build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries is a potential silent killer. In this exclusive interview, June Davison talks to BHF Professor Martin Bennett about the condition.

BHF Professor Martin Bennett works at the University of Cambridge, researching why people develop atherosclerosis. His team is also developing new imaging techniques to better predict who might have a related event. He is also a consultant cardiologist and works at Addenbrookes and Papworth Hospitals.

Why do arteries become narrow?

Blocked arteries, also known as Atherosclerosis, is the build-up of fibrous and fatty material inside the arteries and is the underlying condition that causes coronary heart disease and other circulatory diseases. Atherosclerosis can affect all of the arteries, but particularly those that supply blood to the heart (coronaries), the neck arteries that supply blood to the brain (carotids), and the arteries that supply the legs (peripheral). This can ultimately bring on symptoms such as chest pain (angina) or lead to life-threatening conditions such as a heart attack or stroke.

What causes atherosclerosis?

The most dangerous outcome of atherosclerosis occurs if the plaque ruptures

Fatty material (or atheroma) starts accumulating in the lining of the artery wall from when we are quite young. The material is ‘foreign’ to our bodies, so causes inflammation. The artery tries to clear up the inflammation by repairing the tissue, creating a seal of fibrous material over the fatty core.

Over time, this forms a plaque, which consists of the fatty material, the inflammation and the fibrous tissue around it. This process gradually continues so more atheroma accumulates, causing more inflammation, which results in a bigger plaque. It can take many years before plaque growth has a significant effect.

What are the potential consequences of atherosclerosis?

The disease can be silent for many decades. But once the plaque gets to a certain size, the artery can become so narrowed that insufficient blood gets through, which can cause pain or discomfort, usually during exercise.

This can happen either in the chest (angina) due to lack of blood getting to the heart, or in the calves (claudication) due to lack of blood to the legs.

The most dangerous outcome of atherosclerosis occurs if the plaque ruptures (breaks down). The blood flowing over the top of the plaque can clot, causing a blockage in the artery that can result in a heart attack, or it can be carried downstream causing a stroke.

Isn’t atherosclerosis a natural part of the ageing process?

Atherosclerosis, which causes diseases of the arteries, is a very common process. One of the biggest risk factors for atherosclerosis is age, so it is more common among people in their 60s and 70s, although there are many elderly people who don’t have significant atherosclerosis.

The first evidence of atherosclerosis can appear quite early in life in people in their 20s and 30s, but it often doesn’t cause any problems at this stage and there may be a very long period where the disease is silent. Having risk factors for atherosclerosis and an unhealthy lifestyle mean you’re more likely to develop the disease at a younger age. The major message is look at your lifestyle and see if there are any changes you can make to reduce your risk.

How would I know if my arteries are blocked?

Many people with blocked arteries or atherosclerosis are unaware that they have it until they develop symptoms, such as angina or claudication. Unfortunately, sometimes the first time that someone realises that they have atherosclerosis is when they have an event such as a stroke or a heart attack.

Can I have a test for it?

We recommend that people over 40 go for a cardiovascular risk assessment or health check at their GP surgery. Your blood pressure, cholesterol and a medical history are all taken to calculate your risk of having an event such as a heart attack or stroke. Your GP or nurse can tell if you would benefit from lifestyle changes or treatment.

If you’re found to be at high risk of having an event, you’ll be advised to make changes to your lifestyle and be monitored. It’s also likely that you’ll be recommended to take drugs, such as a statin, to reduce your risk.

Can atherosclerosis be reversed or slowed down?

Leading a healthy lifestyle and managing your risk factors is vital to slow the disease’s progression

The disease is progressive, and, unfortunately, current treatments can’t melt it away. However, there are things that can be done to slow its development and dramatically reduce the chances of a heart attack or stroke.

For example, medication can slow down how quickly the fatty material accumulates. Drugs can also stabilise the plaque and reduce the chance of it rupturing, so you’re much less likely to have a stroke or heart attack.

Leading a healthy lifestyle and managing your risk factors is vital to slow the disease’s progression. This will help to prevent the onset of symptoms such as angina and also reduce the risk of having an event.

How are blocked arteries treated?

Almost everyone who has had a heart attack or has been diagnosed with angina will be prescribed medication to help protect their heart. These drugs include aspirin, which reduces the stickiness of platelets to prevent blood clots from developing, and drugs to reduce cholesterol, usually statins.

Depending on their specific condition, some people may be prescribed additional treatment. For example, if someone has a heart attack, they’re likely to be prescribed beta blockers and an ACE inhibitor, as evidence shows these medicines can reduce the risk of a further heart attack.

Once someone has had an event or if they develop symptoms, they will be investigated to see if they need further treatment. They might have their neck scanned to see if they have carotid disease, a coronary angiogram to look at their coronary arteries, or they may have a scan or an angiogram of their legs to look at the extent of their leg disease.

Is there any other treatment that I can or should have?

Further treatment depends on how severe the disease is in the artery, how many arteries are involved, and how bad someone’s symptoms are.

For instance, if you have disease in the heart arteries, particularly if you are experiencing symptoms such as chest pains or shortness of breath, then it might be treated with an angioplasty and stent.

Or if you have narrowings in multiple coronary arteries, you may be recommended to have coronary bypass graft surgery. Similarly, significant narrowings in the legs or pelvis arteries can be treated with angioplasty and stenting or occasionally bypass surgery.

If you have significant disease in one or both of the carotid arteries in the neck, these are sometimes treated by surgery.

• Read about 5 risk factors for heart disease and how you can control them.

• See 10 weird things that could cause heart disease.