Atherosclerosis treatments may include lifestyle changes or home remedies, medicines, and when needed medical procedures or surgery.
Primary goals of atherosclerosis treatment
- Relieve from symptoms
- Reduce the risk factors to slow down, stop, or reverse the plaque buildup
- Precautionary measure to lower blood clots forming
- Widen the arteries or bypass it
- Properly manage diseases causing atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis Lifestyle Changes
It can often help prevent or treat atherosclerosis.
- Avoid saturated fat and include unsaturated fats.
- Limit fatty and sweet foods.
- Add some fibers; whole-grain cereals such as oatmeal and oat bran, Fruits such as apples, bananas, oranges, pears, and prunes and Legumes such as kidney beans, lentils, chick peas, black-eyed peas, and lima beans.
- Fish a heart-healthy food - A good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help protect the heart from blood clots, inflammation and lower the risk of heart attack.
- Limit the amount of sodium salt - choose low sodium foods.
- Properly manage high pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. They are the risk factors of atherosclerosis.
- Increase physical activity – consult doctor for your suitable plan.
- If over weight and obese - losing weight in steps, helps a lot.
- If smoking – plan to quit. Furthermore, avoid exposing to second-hand smoke.
- Limit alcohol – too much alcohol raises blood pressure and serum triglycerides.
- Plan to reduce or avoid stress – because stress triggers many cases of heart attack.
For more detail, information and tips visit Therapeutic Lifestyle changes section.
Atherosclerosis Medical Procedures and Surgery
- Angioplasty is to open up blocked or narrowed coronary arteries, by inserting a tube into the blocked arteries and slowly inflate it to open up the blockage. If require a small mesh tube (call as stent) is placed in the artery to keep it open after the procedure. Angioplasty help to regain normal blood flow in arteries.
- Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are a surgical procedure, using arteries or veins from other areas in the body to bypass, that go around the blocked arteries. CABG can normalize the blood flow to the heart, relieve chest pain, and possibly prevent a heart attack.
- Bypass grafting in peripheral arteries, in this surgery, use a healthy blood vessel to bypass a narrowed or blocked blood vessel in the legs. It improves blood flow to the leg.
- Carotid artery surgery is similar to angioplasty, and it removes plaque buildup from the carotid arteries in the neck. It improves blood flow to the brain and helps to prevent stroke.