A friend asked Huazi a lot of questions after discovering arterial plaque, and several of the questions he repeatedly asked were "Will arterial plaque be dangerous, is it dangerous, and what medicine do I need to take?".”
Huazi told him that there are two things to understand when discovering plaques, the first thing is that it is very common for middle-aged and elderly people to find plaques, don't panic;The second thing is that the important thing is not to take medicine, but to self-examine. It's important to find what accelerates the progression of plaques, and we can't stop plaques from forming, but we can prevent them from becoming dangerous.
1. The formation of plaque is difficult to avoid.
A friend asked Huazi why plaque appears in the carotid artery because his blood pressure, blood lipids and blood sugar are normal, he does not smoke, and he loves to exerciseHuazi said that in addition to the above risk factors, there are two unavoidable factors for the formation of arterial plaque, one is age, and the other is genetics.
In most people, "lipid striaes" form on the walls of the arteries during puberty, which gradually progress to plaque as they age. This is actually similar to the wrinkles on the ** and the gray hair on the head, which is a trace of time and is basically difficult to avoid. More than half of people in their forties and fifties will have plaques;And in the elderly group of seventy or eighty years old, almost everyone will have plaques.
2. Self-examination should be carried out when plaques are found.
Although plaque formation is difficult to avoid, plaque progression is a very slow process, and under normal circumstances, plaque can take decades to cause severe arterial narrowing, which is a health threat. However, under the influence of factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, and excessive mental stress, the progression of plaque will be accelerated.
So don't panic when you find plaques, but do a good job of self-examination, find out what factors you have that can accelerate the progress of plaques, and correct them. One of the most dangerous factors is the "three highs" and smoking, and controlling the risk factors can delay the progression of plaques and also prevent the formation of more new plaques.
3. Whether to use drugs needs to be evaluated.
Even plaque is not scary, and modern medicine has found that simply reducing the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) can reduce the risk of plaque.
At present, statins are commonly used to reduce LDL-C levels, or statin-based drugs, plus cholesterol absorption inhibitors, PCSK9 inhibitors, Inksland and other drugs to reduce LDL-C together.
For people who have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease, arterial stenosis of more than 50%, and who have had myocardial infarction or cerebral infarction, antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin and clopidogrel are also needed to prevent the formation of blood clots.
However, there is also a risk of adverse reactions to the drug itself, and the drug can only be administered if the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks**. Therefore, whether it is necessary to use drugs such as statins and aspirin needs to be evaluated by a doctor, which is a complicated process, and it is not recommended to use drugs on your own.
Generally speaking, plaques that are smaller in size and more stable in nature do not need to be special**. Area is not an important factor in the evaluation of plaques, and the degree of risk of plaques is usually related to thickness. If there is no obvious thickening of the arterial intima and no obvious stenosis of the arterial lumen, the safety is higher.
To sum up, arterial plaque is a very common thing, don't panic when you find plaque, it's important to find the factors that accelerate the progression of plaque and correct it. Whether medication is required** should be evaluated by a doctor and selected under the guidance of a doctor. If you have any doubts about medication, you can consult a doctor or pharmacist. I am Pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.