Arterial plaques, deposits of cholesterol that can narrow and harden arteries, pose a significant health risk, potentially leading to heart attacks and strokes when they rupture.
Plaques often form in areas of disturbed blood flow, such as curves and forks in arteries. However, the impact of normal blood flow on existing arterial plaques has been less clear.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska conducted an experiment to investigate whether normal blood flow could stabilize existing arterial plaques and reduce the risk of rupture.
They used mice and induced moderate plaque buildup in their carotid arteries over several weeks.
The experiment involved three treatments: administering atorvastatin (Lipitor), a cholesterol-lowering medication, while keeping the cuffs on the arteries; removing the cuffs to restore normal blood flow without medication; and a combination of removing the cuffs and administering atorvastatin.
The findings were intriguing. Atorvastatin alone showed signs of stabilizing plaques, as expected. However, mice that had their cuffs removed without receiving medication exhibited similar improvements.
Compared to mice that continued wearing cuffs, those with normal blood flow saw a 72% reduction in lipids and macrophages (both indicators of plaque instability and progression) and an 89% increase in collagen (a marker of stability) in the plaques.
This indicated that restoring normal blood flow had a significant impact on plaque stabilization.
The researchers noted that the ability of normal blood flow to mimic the benefits of atorvastatin was remarkable. Atorvastatin is known to reduce the 10-year incidence of heart attacks by up to 23%.
When atorvastatin was combined with removing the cuffs, the plaques not only became more stable but also reduced in size.
Understanding the therapeutic effects of normal blood flow and finding ways to replicate these effects artificially are essential research goals.
The study’s insights could potentially lead to the development of non-invasive therapies for diseased arteries, which could be used in conjunction with cholesterol-lowering medications to combat the life-threatening consequences of arterial plaque buildup.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that yogurt may help lower the death risks of heart disease, and coconut sugar could help reduce artery stiffness.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that Vitamin D deficiency can increase heart disease risk, and results showing vitamin B6 linked to lower death risk in heart disease.
The research findings can be found in iScience.
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