Question 1

is it have blocked arteries in your early 20's from having a bad diet?

Accepted Answer

Very unlikely: Very unlikely that you do at such a young age.  Still, that is not an excuse for having a bad diet.  Eat healthy young lady!

Question 2

is having blocked arteries a serious condition?

Accepted Answer

Depends where: A blocked artery can cause the death of the organ supplied by that artery, or a portion thereof. If the main artery of your heart is blocked, this is of course a serious condition that few survive if the blockages complete.  If it is a small artery to a small portion of an unimportant organ, you may not even notice. Disease in one vessel usually means there is also disease in other vessels.

Question 3

what is a good method to clear blocked arteries?

Accepted Answer

Angioplasty or bypas: if the artery has any flow through it and you can get a wire through it angioplasty will help. If not you will need a bypass.

Question 4

how do you know if you might have blocked arteries?

Accepted Answer

Exertional symptoms: Of shortness of breath or chest pain.  You may need a stress test if present.

Question 5

why does your blocked arteries has a fibre  appearance?

Accepted Answer

blocked arteries : They have minimal lumen and so look more like a fiber than a tube.

Question 6

how successful are stents with "fully" blocked arteries?

Accepted Answer

Generally sucessful : Stents came on the medical scene around 1982 and have expanded the vascular lesions that can be treated. Generally short or focal vascular lesions are candidtes for stents. The wire must cross the lesion before the stent can be slid along the wire into position. You still need aggressive vascular medictions and monitoring.

Question 7

is it possible to have blocked arteries at the age of 23?

Accepted Answer

Yes: Although rare, it can happen. Some of the possible causes are buerger's disease (blockage of small arteries related to smoking), vasculitis, severe raynauds disease (vasospasm from cold exposure), collagen vascular disease, embolism, popliteal entrapment or popliteal adventitial cystic disease.

Question 8

i don't want to develop blocked arteries. what steps can i take?

Accepted Answer

Several: Don't smoke, watch you cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar and maintain an active lifestyle.
Use medicines when needed. But also know that there is no guarantee that nothing will happen and you can't avoid getting older or change genetics, but you will be able to shift the odds in your favor.

Question 9

are there certain things that make getting blocked arteries more likely?

Accepted Answer

Usual culprits: Family history (bad genes), smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, overweight, lack of exercise and unhealthy diet are the usual culprits.

Question 10

are there any new medicines being researched that can clear blocked arteries?

Accepted Answer

All the time: There is no drug immediately on the horizon (next 5 years) that you should expect to do this..  Even good drugs with clearly positive effects are being sued into irrelevance due to rare serious side effects (which almost all drugs have).   Taking high-potency statins (crestor (rosuvastatin) or lipitor) has been shown to partially clear blocked arteries if the cholesterol is driven low enough.

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Doctor answers about:

What is blocked arteries

A member asked:

Is it have blocked arteries in your early 20's from having a bad diet?

A member asked:

Is having blocked arteries a serious condition?

A member asked:

What is a good method to clear blocked arteries?

A member asked:

How do you know if you might have blocked arteries?

A member asked:

Why does your blocked arteries has a fibre appearance?

A member asked:

How successful are stents with "fully" blocked arteries?

A member asked:

Is it possible to have blocked arteries at the age of 23?

A member asked:

I don't want to develop blocked arteries. what steps can i take?

A member asked:

Are there certain things that make getting blocked arteries more likely?

A member asked:

Are there any new medicines being researched that can clear blocked arteries?

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