Arteriosclerosis is unknown to many people. However, it is important to know as you get older because this can eventually cause a heart attack or stroke.
Arteriosclerosis causes the artery to narrow. This can eventually even close off the artery. Arteriosclerosis is caused by an inflammatory process within the arteries.
At birth, our arteries have a fairly smooth wall. Over the years, that wall gets damaged. As a result of the damage, white blood cells and fatty substances such as cholesterol accumulate in the artery wall. This creates a plaque, which is a local thickening of the artery wall. Due to the thickening and the deposition of calcium against this, less blood can pass through.
If this happens often enough, the thickening in the vessel wall becomes thicker and thicker. The artery becomes narrower and narrower, which can eventually be completely closed off.
Measure arterial calcification
Arterial calcification is often measured in the hospital. However, there are also options for measuring at home. There are special pulse oximeters that can measure arterial calcification. The Rossmax SB210 saturation meter has that option. On this oximeter is Artery Check Technology (ACT), or artery control. He can see how tightly the artery is occluded. He will indicate this through an indication from 1 to 6 with how closely he is closed. A professional model is the Rossmax SA300 Professional Pulse Oximeter† This model is widely used by doctors and measures very accurately.
Another possibility to measure arteriosclerosis is by measuring blood pressure. Although this is not 100% accurate, it gives a very good indication. This can be done by measuring the pulse pressure. If the pulse pressure is high, there is a high risk of arteriosclerosis.
Arteriosclerosis in men and women
There are differences in arteriosclerosis between men and women.
- In women, the calcification is often over a longer length in the veins. In addition, these are more often found in the smaller blood vessels. In men, plaque is more likely to develop in a larger branch of an artery.
- The plaques in women have a different composition. These are more stable, resulting in fewer cracks in the plaque.
- The plaque in men is greater in amount than in women.
- The female hormones (oestrogens) protect the vascular wall for the menopause. The vessel wall becomes more vulnerable around and after the transition.
Source: Hartichting.nl
Personal and expert advice on saturation meters
We offer various oximeters in our range that can measure arteriosclerosis. For personal and expert advice, please do not hesitate to contact us 0182 – 239393 or by email at info@bloodpressuremonitor.shop.
Interesting topics related to arteriosclerosis