the real question is why doctors have known this for at least 100 years but not done a damn thing about it!
What's a plumber do when he finds out the pipes are gunked up? He cleans out the gunk. Doctors can't do it. They are stumped. No idea what to do, other than put scratchy stents in there to hold it open with the gunk still in there.
the real question is why doctors have known this for at least 100 years but not done a damn thing about it!
What's a plumber do when he finds out the pipes are gunked up? He cleans out the gunk. Doctors can't do it. They are stumped. No idea what to do, other than put scratchy stents in there to hold it open with the gunk still in there.
Because people rarely get a coronary angiogram to measure their calcium score unless their doctor suspects it might be related to whatever health issues you're experiencing or you're a previous heart attack patient. It's not a routine part of a yearly exam.
the real question is why doctors have known this for at least 100 years but not done a damn thing about it!
What's a plumber do when he finds out the pipes are gunked up? He cleans out the gunk. Doctors can't do it. They are stumped. No idea what to do, other than put scratchy stents in there to hold it open with the gunk still in there.
Mechanically cleaning the gunk out of your arteries would cause instant thrombosis. Plaque rupture is literally the thing that causes an MI. You basically want to rupture all the plaque. So instead we have statins, which stabilize the existing plaque to prevent it from rupturing while also preventing deposition of new plaque.
the real question is why doctors have known this for at least 100 years but not done a damn thing about it!
What's a plumber do when he finds out the pipes are gunked up? He cleans out the gunk. Doctors can't do it. They are stumped. No idea what to do, other than put scratchy stents in there to hold it open with the gunk still in there.
Arterial plaques and calcifications are part of the actual wall of the artery. Which is why the body doesn't flush the plaques out simply normal blood flow. If the bulge remains untreated from stenting, it will lead to:
1) Narrowing of the coronary arteries to the point of a heart attack
2) Eventually part of the plaque breaks off, leading to a clot which can also lead to a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism
3) Cholesterol drugs and proper diet/exercise stabilize the plaques so that the bulge doesn't grow anymore.
Of the 3, obviously 3 is the best, but preventative measures are better than any o the above.
And of stenting isn't possible, you have to go the DefCon 3 route and do a full CABG which you don't want since that's open heart surgery. CABG is coronary artery bypass graft. It'll never be as good as having the original coronary artery routes in place and you'll probably never have the same endurance.
the real question is why doctors have known this for at least 100 years but not done a damn thing about it!
What's a plumber do when he finds out the pipes are gunked up? He cleans out the gunk. Doctors can't do it. They are stumped. No idea what to do, other than put scratchy stents in there to hold it open with the gunk still in there.
Mechanically cleaning the gunk out of your arteries would cause instant thrombosis. Plaque rupture is literally the thing that causes an MI. You basically want to rupture all the plaque. So instead we have statins, which stabilize the existing plaque to prevent it from rupturing while also preventing deposition of new plaque.
EXACTLY. my dad's first heart attack -- that they had to shock him back from -- was caused in a cath lab. this was decades ago and they did sometimes try and "roto-rooter" your arteries. you break something loose at point A and it goes swirling around and perhaps causes the very complete (or nearly so) clot you were trying to avoid.
The answer to the ORIGINAL question: Calcified arteries are hard —> arteries can’t stretch to absorb some of the blood pressure —> systolic pressure appears higher.
the real question is why doctors have known this for at least 100 years but not done a damn thing about it!
What's a plumber do when he finds out the pipes are gunked up? He cleans out the gunk. Doctors can't do it. They are stumped. No idea what to do, other than put scratchy stents in there to hold it open with the gunk still in there.
Arterial plaques and calcifications are part of the actual wall of the artery. Which is why the body doesn't flush the plaques out simply normal blood flow. If the bulge remains untreated from stenting, it will lead to:
1) Narrowing of the coronary arteries to the point of a heart attack
2) Eventually part of the plaque breaks off, leading to a clot which can also lead to a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism
3) Cholesterol drugs and proper diet/exercise stabilize the plaques so that the bulge doesn't grow anymore.
Of the 3, obviously 3 is the best, but preventative measures are better than any o the above.
this is why I say they are stumped! Find a way to get the plague out without it breaking and causing a clot.
There are really tiny tools now that could maybe suck the plague and calcium out of the artery wall bit by bit, without damaging it enough to clot.
They are allowed to test this stuff on animals, for example a cow. The cow will be eaten anyway, so see if you can clean its arteries with advanced tech.
Arterial plaques and calcifications are part of the actual wall of the artery. Which is why the body doesn't flush the plaques out simply normal blood flow. If the bulge remains untreated from stenting, it will lead to:
1) Narrowing of the coronary arteries to the point of a heart attack
2) Eventually part of the plaque breaks off, leading to a clot which can also lead to a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism
3) Cholesterol drugs and proper diet/exercise stabilize the plaques so that the bulge doesn't grow anymore.
Of the 3, obviously 3 is the best, but preventative measures are better than any o the above.
this is why I say they are stumped! Find a way to get the plague out without it breaking and causing a clot.
There are really tiny tools now that could maybe suck the plague and calcium out of the artery wall bit by bit, without damaging it enough to clot.
They are allowed to test this stuff on animals, for example a cow. The cow will be eaten anyway, so see if you can clean its arteries with advanced tech.
I actually just looked this up. The CABG I mentioned is the procedure for MULTIPLE coronary artery arteries being clogged. However if there is just one, this may be appropriate for some people:
You can make more money as an influencer than a doctor these days. Surgeons are the exception. You have to be elite influencer, almost a celebrity, to make a surgeon's salary (> $300K). But 100K to 200K is common for many youtubers with over 400K subs.
Arterial plaques and calcifications are part of the actual wall of the artery. Which is why the body doesn't flush the plaques out simply normal blood flow. If the bulge remains untreated from stenting, it will lead to:
1) Narrowing of the coronary arteries to the point of a heart attack
2) Eventually part of the plaque breaks off, leading to a clot which can also lead to a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism
3) Cholesterol drugs and proper diet/exercise stabilize the plaques so that the bulge doesn't grow anymore.
Of the 3, obviously 3 is the best, but preventative measures are better than any o the above.
this is why I say they are stumped! Find a way to get the plague out without it breaking and causing a clot.
There are really tiny tools now that could maybe suck the plague and calcium out of the artery wall bit by bit, without damaging it enough to clot.
They are allowed to test this stuff on animals, for example a cow. The cow will be eaten anyway, so see if you can clean its arteries with advanced tech.
The tissue underlying the plaque is thrombogenic. It doesn't matter how you remove the plaque. Doing so would expose the lumen of the vessel, which would cause clotting.
But if you're sure you can make the procedure you propose work, you're certainly free to have a crack at it. You'll get very rich if you succeed. So go for it if you want.