Lipoproteins and Heart Attacks Lipoproteins Term Paper

" If the liver encounters more food materials than the body can use at the time, it converts the extra food into fat, which can then be stored in the liver, in the fat cells, and circulate in the blood. The extra circulating cholesterol, especially the LDL's, are a sign that either (1) the person is eating too much, (2) the person is not exercising enough to "burn" the food that he/she eats, or both.

A surplus of LDL's results in a build-up of plaque in the arteries around the body (not just the heart). They can coat the cardiac, peripheral vascular and brain arteries with relatively eccentric plaque, building up over a period of time to create a reduced blood flow.

When the main arteries of the heart are constricted enough, a small thrombus, or blood clot, can clog the remaining opening in the artery and cause the heart muscle cells downstream to lose food and oxygen; this results in a heart attack.In the brain, if the brain arteries are constricted by a build-up of fatty plaque, a small clot or a complete blockage by plaque can cause an ischemic stroke. In the leg, kidneys or other parts of the body, such a plaque build-up, with or without a thrombus, can result in limb ischemia or renal failure.

The best way to treat an LDL/HDL imbalance and to lower total cholesterol is with statins, which can reduce cholesterol and improve the ratio by up to 40% (Holz).

Bibliography

Holz, K. "Intensive Statin Therapy Can Partially Reverse Plaque Build-up in Arteries." 15 March 2006. Medical News Today. 4 August 2007 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/39470.php.

Naghavi, M. et al. "From Vulnerable Plaque to Vulnerable Patient." Circulation (2003): 1772.

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