Essays on Atherosclerosis

Endothelial malfunction is the main cause for atherosclerosis. Arterial blockage increases the risk of stroke, congestive heart failure, and heart attack. Cocoa polyphenols, bioavailable superoxide dismutase, and pomegranate help the arteries from being damaged by enhancing endothelial function.
Pomegranate has influential antioxidant properties that protect the heart and blood vessels. Pomegranate juice reduces atherosclerotic properties, and reduces arterial plaque progression. Anthocyanins, Punicalagins, and tannins present in pomegranate acts as antioxidant and reduce cardiovascular diseases. Cocoa polyphenols enhance endothelial function, improve the free flow of blood, and prevents oxidation of LDL's.
Cocoa has a high concentration of flavonoids. Epicatechin and

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Myocardial ischemia or cardiac ischemia is the decrease of blood flow, and thus oxygen supply, in the heart due to partial or complete blockage of the heart’s arteries. Its effects range from damage of the heart muscle (heart failure), to heart attack (myocardial infarction), and to abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia). Symptoms of myocardial ischemia may not appear (silent ischemia), or may be characterized by chest pressure or pain (angina pectoris), neck or jaw pains, shoulder or arm pains, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, and nausea and vomiting.
Myocardial ischemia may occur slowly as arteries become blocked over time,

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The blood vessels of the human body are predominantly made up of endothelial cells (EC) and smooth muscle cells (SMC). The remainder of it is composed of extracellular matric (ECM), which includes collagen, elastin, and glycosaminoglycans (Robbins, 2007, pg. 340). The walls of the vessels can be separated into three layers. The innermost layer, or tunica intima is made up of a single layer of endothelial cells overlying extracellular matrix (Robbins, 2007, pg.340) The next layer, or tunica media is separated from the tunica intima by the internal elastic lamina; the tunica media is mainly composed of SMC’s

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Atherosclerosis is a cardiovascular disease of the walls of the artery that comes as a result of accumulation of fatty deposits on walls of the artery leading to an impairment of the flow of blood (Weber & Soehnlein, 2013). With in mind that cardiovascular diseases cause deaths and morbidity in several countries, atherosclerosis can be viewed as a serious disease particularly with regards to the ever increasing cases of obesity.
Notably, there is an apparent relationship between atherosclerosis and heart attack; atherosclerosis most commonly leads to heart attack. The understanding of the relationship between atherosclerosis and heart attack can be

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