Recent medical research at the University of Virginia has suggested that everything we know about Atherosclerosis so far is most probably wrong. As per a report from the NBC, this study shows several incorrect beliefs about this condition where plaque builds up in your heart and tries to explain what really happens.
This new research has made researchers reexamine their approach as far as treating atherosclerosis is concerned. The stiffening of arteries is the most common cause of death around the world and is also the most common end stage event as far as heart disease is concerned. Rupturing blood vessels which are filled with plaque may cause blood clots which can lead to a stroke or heart attack.
Until this recent research, doctors believed that it was the smooth muscle cells, which are responsible for the expanding and contracting of blood vessels, which protected the human body against atherosclerosis. This led conventional wisdom to believe that the more of these cells found in blood vessel walls, the more stable it would make the plaque inside and therefore less risky.
But the new study has turned all of this right completely upside down. While the smooth muscle cells certainly have a role to play as far as cardiovascular health is concerned, the problem is much more complicated than that simply because there are a few smooth muscle cells which are immune cells called macrophages and the other way around. This failure in properly identifying cells involved in the protection of our body against atherosclerosis is what has made all the knowledge in this regard ambiguous.
Researchers learned of this mistake with the help of genetic tags in order to identify smooth muscle cells. This gave them the opportunity to identify these cells easily and also allowed them to observe their role in fighting plaque buildup in the heart & blood vessels more accurately.
A lot of follow up study is required on this in order to clarify all of the confusion. This will eventually lead to the development of more effective treatments for this condition.
