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Vascular Disease Awareness

This month has seen the raising of awareness of Vascular Disease.  The aim has been to not only make people more aware of Vascular disease but also the charitable work of the Circulation Foundation

Like other parts of the body, the majority of people take the vascular system for granted until something goes wrong.

In this blog, we’ll outline the functions of the Vascular system, its anatomy/physiology, what can go wrong with it and how to keep it healthy.

Functions

Picture showing the components of blood

The primary purpose of the vascular system is to provide a vessel to transport blood.

Blood transports oxygen and nutrients to living cells and also removes their waste products. Other components include immune cells to fight infections, platelets which form clots to repair damaged blood vessels, and various hormones.

Anatomy/Physiology

Our body contains a vast network of blood vessels which allows blood to be distributed to and from our organs. The two main vessels are arteries and veins which branch off into Arterioles and Venioles.

Arteries

A diagram showing an artery

The oxygenated blood which flows
through arteries is under high
pressure, therefore arteries have
thick outer walls and thick layers of
muscle and elastic fibres


Veins

Diagram showing a vein

Conversely, blood flow in veins is under
much lower pressure, therefore only thin
walls are needed.  To prevent back-flow they
have one-way valves.  To aid the return of
blood through the veins, skeletal muscles
such as the calf muscles help to ‘squeeze’ the
blood around when they contract.

 

 

 


What can go wrong?

Most complications related to the vascular system occur due to the build-up of Plaque. Plaque consists of fat, cholesterol, calcium and various other waste products found in the blood. Plaque adheres to the inside walls of arteries and overtime hardens. The accumulation of Plaque is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, high blood cholesterol and other modifiable risk factors

Arteries

Thickening of the arteries is called Atherosclerosis. When it occurs in the arteries that supply your arms and legs it is called Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). Symptoms can include numbness and pain.  This occlusion of the blood supply can result in infection (e.g. Cellulitis) and tissue damage (e.g. leg ulcers).

Atherosclerosis increases the pressure in the blood vessels which can damage the arterial walls.

In order to repair the damage, a blood clot is formed.

If this clot then breaks off (embolism) and blocks the lumen of a blood vessel it may cause condition such as heart attacks and stroke.

Veins

As previously mentioned, the contraction of skeletal muscle is important to aid blood flow in veins. Immobility which can occur during an operation, bed rest, long haul flights etc prevent this. The reduction in flow increases the risk of clot formation. A clot which develops in the deep vein of a calf is called a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). These can be fatal if they break off and travel to the lungs (Pulmonary Embolism).

Keeping the Vascular System Healthy

Adopting or maintaining a healthy lifestyle vastly reduces the risk of you developing vascular disease.  Eating healthy, watching your weight, exercising regularly and of course not smoking are all key factors. If you would like advice on how to make any of these changes our highly experience personal trainer Anthony McGrath would be delighted to guide you.

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