Can plaque in blood vessels cause stroke?

□ Science Popularization Times reporter Li Liyun Zhu Hong correspondent Yi Xiaofeng

"Uncle Liu, 58 years old, was diagnosed with carotid artery plaques two years ago, but he did not feel any other discomfort in his body and did not pay attention to it. One day, Uncle Liu suddenly felt dizzy after getting up, and came to the hospital for treatment because he had a stroke." Recently, Wang Haiyang, director of the Department of Vascular Surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, said in an interview with reporters that although carotid artery plaques will not immediately attract everyone's attention like colds and diarrhea, once this type of plaque causes trouble, it often brings symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, and in severe cases, it may also cause hemiplegia, aphasia, swallowing disorders, and even sudden death due to cerebral infarction and stroke.

What is carotid plaque

"When there are many blood lipid particles in the blood, if these particles cannot be excreted from the body in time, they will be deposited on the blood vessel walls and form vascular plaques through some immune reactions in the blood vessels." Zhang Le, chief physician of the Department of Neurology at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, said that if plaques appear in the carotid artery, it is called carotid plaque.

Early carotid plaques may not cause discomfort. But when the carotid plaques reach the later stage, as the plaques increase, the blood vessels become severely narrowed, the head will be ischemic and hypoxic, resulting in symptoms of dizziness and headache.

Zhang Le said that once the carotid artery plaque breaks off, it will flow into the brain through the blood, blocking the relatively small blood vessels at the distal end and causing a stroke.

Plaques lay the groundwork for stroke

"Clinically, about 1/3 of strokes are caused by diseases such as carotid artery plaques." Wang Haiyang introduced that according to statistics from the National Health Commission, the total number of stroke patients in my country exceeds 28 million, and stroke has become one of the major diseases threatening the health of Chinese people. Vascular plaques lay the "groundwork" for strokes.

What exactly causes human blood vessels to become a breeding ground for plaques? Wang Haiyang explained that the formation of plaques is the result of age, gender, genetic family history of high blood sugar and high blood pressure, as well as unhealthy factors such as staying up late, smoking, alcoholism, and high-fat diet. Among them, a high-fat diet not only provides "building materials" for plaques, but also continuously stimulates the blood vessel walls, allowing various lipids to accumulate more and more in the blood vessels. Smoking can change the body's lipid metabolism, increase the raw materials of plaques, interfere with blood pressure and damage the blood vessel walls.

Generally, color Doppler ultrasound examination of the neck vessels or transcranial Doppler examination can help detect carotid artery plaques. Zhang Le said that if the surface of the plaque is not smooth and irregular, and the echo is relatively weak, this plaque is generally rich in lipids and is called a soft plaque, which is relatively easier to reverse. Soft plaques are also more likely to fall off, and the probability of causing stroke is higher, so timely intervention and treatment are needed.

There are ways to prevent carotid artery plaque

What are the ways to prevent carotid artery plaques? "First of all, we need to eat a reasonable diet, pay attention to dietary diversity and balanced nutrition." Wang Haiyang said that we should increase the intake of whole grains appropriately, increase the daily intake of fresh fruits and vegetables to 400 grams, and the intake of lean meat and fish eggs should be 120 grams. We should eat less high-calorie and high-sugar foods such as fat, animal liver, barbecue, cakes, etc.; we should reduce the intake of salt, and also reduce the intake of fat and trans fatty acids. The intake of fat should be less than 30% of the total calories, the intake of trans fatty acids should not exceed 2 grams, and the intake of sugar should be less than 25 grams; regular consumption of low-fat, high-fiber ingredients such as mung bean sprouts, cabbage, rapeseed, celery, spinach, carrots, etc., can help "clean" blood vessels and remove blood clots.

Secondly, Wang Haiyang suggested that stroke is particularly easy to occur if the amount of exercise is not guaranteed, whether young or old. "Whether men or women, young or old, try to choose a form of exercise that suits you and ensure the exercise time. For healthy people, it is recommended to exercise at least 4 times a week, each time for at least 50 minutes, and do some high-intensity aerobic exercise, such as running, climbing, cycling, swimming, brisk walking, etc." Wang Haiyang said.

Hypertension is one of the main factors leading to stroke. Wang Haiyang said that with the help of doctors, patients with hypertension should find the right antihypertensive medicine for themselves, take it on time, and stick to it for a long time. At the same time, they should develop a good habit of measuring their blood pressure and always understand their blood pressure status. In addition, they should go to bed on time and ensure adequate sleep. If they have time during the day, they should take a 20-30 minute lunch break to give their brains enough rest.