Arteriosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is defined as paste and hardening in the arteries as athero means “paste” while scleroisis means “hardening”. Arteries are endothelium-lined blood vessels that transport oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to the different organs and tissues of the body. These veins should be very flexible, sturdy, and elastic. As a person ages, they start to lose this elasticity and flexibility due to hardening of the endothelium and plaque accumulation, so the arteries stiffen and narrow to a degree which of course is inevitable. But this can also be influenced by many more factors aside from age such as diet, exercise, smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and presence of free radicals. This damages the endothelium and promotes further hardening and narrowing, which has adverse physiological effects in the body, particularly in the heart, brain, and peripheral regions like the legs.

The aforementioned factors that cause damage to the epithelium are by lifestyle and/or genetics. They cause an immune response that leads to an inflammatory response of plaque formation and impair the epithelium’s function of proper blood flow. This plaque is mainly composed of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol because as the monocytes try to attack and engulf the cholesterol, they actually fuse and form larger cells called foam cells. These cells enlarge through mitosis and further accumulation of fat and cholesterol. This eventually hardens the epithelium and narrows the artery thus limiting the amount of blood that can flow through the artery. 

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Boamponsem, A.G., and L.K. Boamponsem. "The Role of Inflammation in Atherosclerosis." Advances in Applied Science Research 2.4 (2008): 194-207. Pelagia Research Library. 

Ulbricht, Catherine, ed. "Atherosclerosis: An Integrative Approach: A Natural Standard Monograph." Alternative and Complementary Theories 17.5 (2011): 287-93. Print.