How atherosclerosis is affected by the brain and the nervous system.

                Atherosclerosis is the buildup of plaque along the arterial walls. As plaque accumulates, the gap within the lumen of the blood vessel becomes increasingly small. Just as a drain is clog, little material is able to pass through the clogged region.

                A clogged artery or vein can be a serious and life threatening scenario. When a blood vessel is clogged, oxygenated blood is unable to pass through to provide fresh oxygen to the tissues of the body.        

                Symptoms of dizziness, easy fatigue, and lapse in judgment can be signs of the lack of oxygen to the brain. Ever whether why boxing or sports movies have the coach or medical staff asking the person that just got knocked out, "How many fingers am I holding up?" When cells in the tissue of any part of the body lacks oxygen, they lose their effectiveness and functionality.  

                In the brain, the central and peripheral nervous system cooperates to help control your body. While the central nervous system consists of primarily the brain and spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system contains the cranial and spinal nerves.

                 In addition, the peripheral nervous system is further broken down into either somatic or autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system is responsible for controlling the physical movement of the body through skeletal muscles. Meanwhile, the autonomic nervous system is responsible for controlling everything else. Atherosclerosis is genuinely most influenced by the autonomic nervous system.

                The autonomic nervous system can be categorized into sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.  There is a common approach when defining which nervous system is in action when it is defined as either  "fight or flight" and "rest and digest".

                 The following video provides a clear insight about the brain and the nervous system:

                In basic terms, the nervous systems receives a signal, analyzes it and responds accordingly.  In a more detailed perspective, when the body needs to run away from a tiger the sympathetic nervous system will kick into fight or flight response and increase heart rate to allow more oxygenated blood to reach skeletal muscles and promote movement.  Meanwhile, the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for rest and digest will slow down and restrict blood flow sent towards the digestive tract.

                Conversely, if the individual is sitting down and eating lunch they will slow down their sympathetic nervous system and increase their parasympathetic nervous system.  Henceforth, when a blood vessel is clogged the autonomic nervous can influence the severity of slowing down blood flow.

                For instance, if a water hose is clogged, but is still able to slowly churn out water is then squeezed, then the already restricted water flow will cease to exist. The same scenario exists within blood vessels during high pressures created from stress or high heart rate. Unfortunately, individuals with high stress and hypertension will further increase their likelihood of having a stroke even with a less severe case of atherosclerosis.

                 Fortunately, bypass surgery exists for those with clogged arteries that are life threatening, but a more permanent solution should be developed to prevent atherosclerosis. Among the different types of medical treatments, awareness accompanied by a healthy diet and regular exercise will greatly reduce the buildup of plaque is the best solution. 

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