#arterial plaque

[mlleshopping]

BLOG 58: HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

BLOG 58: HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

[dr-smirnov-underscore-real]

Please don’t have that heart attack

I’ll avoid red meats

[lotus-120]

[whats-in-a-sentence]

The images on this page show cross-sectional views of coronary arteries with atherosclerotic plaque.

"Chemistry" 2e - Blackman, A., Bottle, S., Schmid, S., Mocerino, M., Wille, U.

[tenth-sentence]

Arterosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of a build-up of fatty materials such as cholesterol.

"Chemistry" 2e - Blackman, A., Bottle, S., Schmid, S., Mocerino, M., Wille, U.

[swagging-back-to]

well i just found out that medically defined binge drinking for women is actually just 3 drinks in one night. yeah of course it'll seem like binge drinking when we're actually just having an average amount instead of the dainty 'feminine' amount society forces on us.

[harmeet-saggi]

What Should My Cholesterol Level Be At My Age?

For healthy people (especially under the age of 20), the optimal cholesterol level is total cholesterol of less than 200mg/dL, LDL cholesterol of less than 130mg/dL. Anything over that should be approached cautiously and you may want to work with a healthcare professional to determine the best course of action. Based on your health condition, lifestyle habits, family history, and more, they may recommend supplementing your diet with specific high-quality plant sterols which - after some time - can decrease LDL particles in the blood gradually through lowering blood triglyceride levels.  This might not be necessary for everyone but it never hurts to listen to expert advice.

[uncrossedrhyme]

Guide to Life-Sustaining Nutrients: Copper [PREVIEW]

The following is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive newsletter Click the icon below to support Become Something New for the cost of just one cup of coffee per month for access to this and upcoming Patreon-only content. ��📖🧠💪 Patreon Starting at the most vital level, copper is a mitochondrial cofactor, essential for cytochrome C oxidase (complex IV), which completes oxidative phosphorylation to…

[drmilindcom]

Unveiling Silent Threat: 5 Subtle Indicators of High Cholesterol Revealed by Your Body

[jeraliey]

It's still not just a cold.

"This study showing that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus directly infects coronary artery plaques, producing inflammatory substances, really joins the dots and helps our understanding on why we're seeing so much heart disease in COVID patients," Peter Hotez, MD, professor of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told Medscape.

Oh, also?

CDC predicts respiratory disease season will be similar to last year

"The CDC said it expects a similar number of respiratory disease cases this year as last year, with 15 to 25 new weekly hospitalizations per 100,000 people."

"As of Friday, nearly 12 million people have gotten the new Covid-19 vaccine since they were authorized last month, according to HHS. That’s millions more than the week prior, but still less than 4% of the US population."

No one is protecting themselves. And no one else will protect you.

Even if you're not worried for yourself....don't be one of the people that carries it to someone else. We're all responsible for the most vulnerable people in our society. (That could be you, by the way.....)

WEAR. YOUR. MASK.

[scientia-rex]

Wound Care

Ok so, take this with a BIG grain of salt, because I may be a medical doctor BUT you need to know how much wound care training we get in medical school: none. Zip. Zilch. There may be medical schools where you do, but mine wasn't a bozo factory and there was NO wound care training. Everything I know I learned from one of several sources: an intensive 2-day wound care course I did in residency (highly recommend), the local Home Health wound care nurse (highly recommend), a completely batshit insane old white male doctor who started our learning sessions by yelling Vietnam War stories at me (do not recommend), a hospital wound care nurse (highly recommend), and experience (oh god do not recommend).

The first thing you need to know is that wound healing varies dramatically across the course of a lifespan. Kids? Kids will heal. If they don't, get their ass to a pediatrician because there's something genetic going on. Young adults will heal. Middle-aged adults will heal. You know who doesn't heal for shit? The elderly, and people with severe illnesses, and people with uncontrolled type II diabetes.

Your body needs several things in order to heal. It needs macronutrients, so you need to be able to EAT protein, fat, and carbs. If you are on total parenteral nutrition, aka TPN, aka IV nutrition, you are going to be worse at healing. If you are starving yourself, you are going to be worse at healing. If your body is desperately funneling all the calories you take in to surviving your COPD or cancer, you are going to be worse at healing.

It also needs micronutrients. If your diet sucks, you won't heal. Take a multivitamin once in a while.

There are two CRITICAL skin components to healing: collagen and elastin. Guess what we stop making as we age. Promoting collagen isn't just good for "anti-aging," it's good for NOT ripping your skin apart. Taking oral collagen is probably bullshit because your body is going to have to disassemble it to get it across the intestinal membranes to absorb, but it's also harmless, and if your diet REALLY sucks, who knows. Give it a try. Collagen is made of amino acids; think protein.

Another absolutely crucial component is blood flow. As people age, they start to develop cholesterol plaques lining arteries that eventually pick up calcium deposits. This makes blood vessels less elastic, which is a problem, but eventually also blocks them off, which is a much bigger problem. If someone has the major blood flow to their feet decreased by 90% by arterial stenosis, they are not going to heal for shit AND their foot's gonna hurt.

One component of blood flow I hadn't thought about before going into medicine is fluid retention. The way your body works, blood exits the heart at a very high velocity, but slows to a crawl by the time it gets into capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in the body. Water is a very small molecule and can leave the blood vessel, especially if there aren't big, negatively-charged molecules like proteins like albumin in the blood vessels to hold the water there. And we're built for this--some water is supposed to leak out of our blood vessels when it gets to real little vessels. It gets taken back up by the lymphatic system and eventually dumped back into the bloodstream at the inferior vena cava. But if you aren't making albumin--for instance, in liver failure--you may leak a LOT of fluid into the tissue, so much that your legs get swollen, tight, the skin feeling woody and strange. This isn't fixable by drainage because the fluid is everywhere, not in a single pocket we can drain. And because it puts so much pressure on the tissues of the skin, it often results in ulcers. Congestive heart failure, liver failure, kidney failure--these are all common causes of severe edema, aka swelling due to fluid in the tissues. And they're a real bitch when it comes to wound care, because we have such limited resources for getting the fluid back out, which is a necessary first step to healing.

Pressure is another common cause of wounds. Pressure forces blood out of those little capillaries, so you starve the cells normally fed by those capillaries, and they die. It's called pressure necrosis. Very sick people who can't turn themselves over--people in the ICU, people in nursing homes--are especially prone to these wounds, as are people with limited sensation; pressure wounds are common in wheelchair users who have lost some feeling in the parts of their bodies that rub against those surfaces, or diabetics who don't notice a rock in their shoe.

So, if you're trying to treat wounds, the questions to ask are these:

Why did this wound happen?

-Was it pressure? If it's pressure, you have to offload the source of the pressure or else that wound will not heal. End of story. You can put the tears of a unicorn on that thing, if you don't offload the pressure it won't heal.

-Was it fluid? If it's fluid, you have get the fluid out of the issues or else it won't heal. You can sometimes do that with diuretics, medications that cause the body to dump water through the kidneys, but that's always threading a needle because you have to get someone to a state where they still have juuuuust enough fluid inside their blood vessels to keep their organs happy, while maintaining a very slight state of dehydration so the blood vessels suck water back in from the tissues. You can use compression stockings to squeeze fluid back into the vessels, but if they have arterial insufficiency and not just venous insufficiency, you can accidentally then cause pressure injury. The safest option is using gravity: prop the feet up above the level of the heart, wherever the heart is at, at that moment, and gravity will pull fluid back down out of the legs. Super boring though. Patients hate it. Not as much as they hate compression stockings.

-Was it a skin tear because the skin is very fragile? This is extremely common in the elderly, because they're not making collagen and elastin, necessary to repairing skin. If this is the case, make sure they're actually getting enough nutrition--as people get into their 80s and 90s, their appetites often change and diminish, especially if they're struggling with dementia. And think about just wrapping them in bubble wrap. Remove things with sharp edges from their environments. I have seen the WORST skin tears from solid wood or metal furniture with sharp edges. Get rid of throw rugs and other tripping hazards. I had somebody last week who tried to a clear a baby gate and damn near destroyed their artificial hip.

The next critical question: why isn't it healing?

-Are you getting enough nutrients? Both macro and micro?

-Are you elderly?

-Are you ill?

-Do you have a genetic disorder of collagen formation?

Fix why it's not healing and almost anything will heal. If you're diabetic, find a medication regimen that improves your sugars and stick to it. If you're anorexic, get treatment for your eating disorder. If you have congestive heart failure, work with your doctor on your fluid balance. Wear the damn pressure stockings. Prop up your feet.

If, after those two unskippable questions are done, you want to do something to the wound--apply a dressing, do a treatment--that's a whole other kettle of fish. I'll write that later. The dryer just sang me its little song and I need to put away the laundry.

[devildomwriter]

Obey Me As Tumblr #25

Satan: What are some good cities?

Solomon: Owl

Satan: Too many fireflies, infested

•

Mammon: Scary how fast someone can mean so much to you

Leviathan: Scary how fast you can mean nothing to someone

MC: Scary how fast I switched my car insurance to geico

•

Leviathan: Dead leafs? That’s card yard salad now, and it’s the new food trend

Raphael: Leaves*

Leviathan: Where are you going?

•

Mammon: I got some many love in my souls

Luke: Why do you have more than one soul?

Mammon: Irrelevant

•

Diavolo: Assert your dominance by calling your friends by their student ID number

•

Simeon: Homework? Decent grades? The Bible said Adam and Eve not Adam and achieve

Belphegor: I almost spit everywhere

•

Leviathan: Fanfic titles be “we have not touched the stars (nor are we forgiven)” and then you look at the tags and the first one is “anal fisting”

Satan: I choked

•

Mammon: I can’t believe clowns are real what the fuck…

Belphegor: DID YOU JUST DISCOVER MIRRORS?

Mammon: SHUT UP!!! SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

•

Beelzebub: You ever get a bus driver that drives like they’re running from god

Solomon: You’re really complaining about the discount roller coaster?

•

Beelzebub: Due to plaque build up, human arteries are sometimes crunchy. Also, the arteries themselves are made up of a smooth, elastic (possibly gummy?) type of tissue. Therefore I imagine that eating a diseased human artery would be a similarly experience, texture-wise, to slurping one of THESE babies

*picture of a nerds rope*

Raphael: May the only thing that dampens the flames of hell for you be God spitting in your face

•

Leviathan: So, do seahorses read fpreg?

Lucifer: Seahorses are illiterate. A quality I wish I had so I didn’t have to read this post

•

Mammon: Laying an egg hard and loud

Solomon: Will the person who tagged this “Stephen Colbert” please approach the bench

•

Satan: Someone in my younger siblings class said they were “yandere for them” and my sibling responded “first of all cringe, second of all red flag” and no phrase has entered my daily lexicon so fast

•

Mammon: I go to Home Depot

Beelzebub: I eat the tools

Satan: Stop it

Belphegor: Crumch

•

Mammon: There’s no crime in being a thief

Lucifer: What a thief does is steal someone’s property without their permission, which is a crime

Asmodeus: Not when I do it. I’ll steal your heart and you wouldn’t mind

Solomon: …

Satan: That was very smooth

Leviathan: I’m gonna steal both your organs and money

•

Diavolo: What do teens like?!? Is it memes? Memes about skeletons? Piss? Communism?

Solomon: This post is 20x funnier if you imagine a CEO shouting it at his board of directors

Last • Next

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Some Cardiology Vocabulary

for your next poem/story

Ablation – Elimination or removal.

Annulus – The ring around a heart valve where the valve leaflet merges with the heart muscle.

Arrhythmia – (or dysrhythmia) An abnormal heartbeat.

Autologous – Relating to self. For example, autologous stem cells are those taken from the patient’s own body.

Bruit – A sound made in the blood vessels resulting from turbulence, perhaps because of a buildup of plaque or damage to the vessels.

Cardiac – Pertaining to the heart.

Cardiomegaly – An enlarged heart. It is usually a sign of an underlying problem, such as high blood pressure, heart valve problems, or cardiomyopathy.

Carotid artery – A major artery (right and left) in the neck supplying blood to the brain.

Claudication – A tiredness or pain in the arms and legs caused by an inadequate supply of oxygen to the muscles, usually due to narrowed arteries or peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Commissurotomy -A procedure used to widen the opening of a heart valve that has been narrowed by scar tissue.

Digitalis – A medicine made from the leaves of the foxglove plant. Digitalis is used to treat congestive heart failure (CHF) and heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias).

Endocardium – The smooth membrane covering the inside of the heart. The innermost lining of the heart.

Infarct – The area of heart tissue permanently damaged by an inadequate supply of oxygen.

Jugular veins – The veins that carry blood back from the head to the heart.

Maze surgery – A type of heart surgery that is used to treat chronic atrial fibrillation by creating a surgical “maze” of new electrical pathways to let electrical impulses travel easily through the heart. Also called the Maze procedure.

Myocardium – The muscular wall of the heart. It contracts to pump blood out of the heart and then relaxes as the heart refills with returning blood.

Palpitation – An uncomfortable feeling within the chest caused by an irregular heartbeat.

Pericardium – The outer fibrous sac that surrounds the heart.

Regurgitation – Backward flow of blood through a defective heart valve.

Septal defect – A hole in the wall of the heart separating the atria or in the wall of the heart separating the ventricles.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 ⚜ More: Word Lists

[mindblowingscience]

Earlier this year, we got news from a landmark study that microplastics – tiny shards of plastic shed from larger chunks – had been found inside more than 50 percent of fatty deposits from clogged arteries. It was the first data of its kind to draw a link between microplastics and their impact on human health. Now, a new study from researchers in China reports finding microplastics in blood clots surgically removed from arteries in the heart and brain, and deep veins in the lower legs. It's only a small study, of 30 patients – not nearly as many as the 257 patients followed for 34 months in the arterial plaque study published in March.

Continue Reading.

[rainswept]

counting backwards — throwing muses. 0.8k words.

Fog has found a comfortable residence nestled in Aventurine’s brain—a bustling one, strangling clear thoughts and fond reminiscence and expertly avoiding those gnawing memories he wished it would swallow.

He looks into the mirror, he shows his teeth. He hopes, to others, it looks like a smile and not a snarl—though, to him, he still looks afraid, and he swears he can still see the yellowing he had earned after so long of not being able to care for them (despite how the gold of his wealth had cancelled it out long ago and chased it off).

It was voracious, clamoring like a starved man, armed with an achingly empty stomach at all times; it was nimble, and it trembled whenever he did—with hunger, sickness, the cold, or fear, he didn’t know, it was a toss up—skin melded to bone. Yet, as much as it ate at his clairvoyance, it didn’t grow—it just… lingered, in the corner of his cluttered head, emaciated and shaking. It stared at him. It had his eyes, and the same blond hair.

He keeps practicing. He wants his expression to be bright like a future that is looking up, like the sun during the first glimpse of it after rain, and infectious—but it was bright like a warning sign, like the sun beating down on an arid and drought-stricken desert, and diseased. That wouldn’t do. His sight was bleary, and his hair was a mess, and he fell asleep in last night’s clothes; nothing about him screamed refined or expensive or high quality or worth anything at all.

It felt fearful, in a way, but it cared for its host just as the weather outside did. Maybe even less. It rained for Kakavasha, but this? This didn’t change for a thing. All it did was fast forward the time on the clock. All it did was steal from him, little by little, thread by thread, coin by coin, unraveling, rusting, wasting. But that was fine. He had money and memories to give now. He had the means to feed both himself and it. He was generous—he always was, but now he could truly afford to be without sacrifice.

For as long and well as he had played the role of carefully crafted, embellished with gold and beholding bones of wrought iron, every rotting rope making him up was one rainstorm away from snapping.

Speaking of Kakavasha, he didn’t remember much of him. All that lingered was the fear, because as much as he washed the blood—his kin, his kills—off of himself, that little frayed part of him, wide-eyed and with no more tears to cry, remained playing dead under its current.

He combs out any tangles sleep had imparted in the strands of his hair. He washes it out—the scent of the soap doesn’t take long to leave him with a headache, so he rinses and replaces it with equally migraine-inducing conditioner. He combs through it until he no longer looks unkempt or unwell.

That fog is still here. He should remind himself to grab his keys, just in case.

He hooks his finger in the corner of his mouth, pulls it back a bit further to check for any plaque or pieces of food left on his molars. There is none. He keeps looking. He straightens out his clothes, stares and bores holes into every last crevice that could hide a tell. He stares and stares. He remembers a time when he had no reflection, only sand and kin, only a guess at what he looked like. That was long ago.

In the mirror, when he still only saw himself in the faces of his family, mauve hair fell, and her voice still echoes: “What’s worth more to you, Kakavasha—the life in your veins, or the gaze you share with those incinerated bodies?”

What is more important to you, Kakavasha, the blood that keeps your heart that deserves nothing but death beating, or the blood that makes you Avgin, that ties you by something indisputable to the only thing you ever learned how to cherish?

That was what she meant. It was a stupid question.

He fixes his shirt one last time. He grabs his keys.

He knew how to answer, then, and he still does now, because he would drain his arteries of every last drop if it meant seeing them unpainted with theirs again—for the color to return to their faces, the life to their dull eyes—

He closes the door behind him with a soft click.

But that can’t happen. So he will continue to dress his wounds, cut his losses, and survive, until he inevitably joins them.

(He will never join them. They are dust, scattered in fragments across space. He will be buried in a lavish coffin.)

[cardiacreports2]

Paramedic Incident Report

Incident Number: 2024-19245 Date: December 6, 2024 Time of Call: 15:23

Incident Location: ClimbX Indoor Gym, 345 Summit Street, Boulder, CO

Patient Information:

Name: Daniel Carson

Age: 20

Gender: Male

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 165 lbs

Physical Description: Lean and muscular build with well-defined arms and torso typical of an experienced climber. Short dark brown hair, light complexion.

Description of Incident: At 15:23, dispatch received a 911 call reporting a young male climber had collapsed while bouldering at an indoor climbing facility. The patient was reportedly scaling a mid-level climb when witnesses described him suddenly clutching his chest, losing his grip, and falling to the mat below. He was unresponsive upon initial assessment by gym staff.

Initial Assessment Upon Arrival (15:30):

Level of Consciousness: Unresponsive

Pulse: Absent

Respiratory Effort: None

Skin Condition: Pale, cool, and clammy

Pupils: Fixed and dilated

Bystanders reported that staff initiated CPR immediately after the collapse and delivered one shock using the facility's automated external defibrillator (AED).

Treatment at Scene (15:30-15:45):

CPR: High-quality chest compressions continued upon paramedics’ arrival.

Airway Management: Airway secured with a bag-valve mask; oxygen at 15 L/min.

AED Analysis: AED advised one additional shock, which was administered at 15:35. Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) achieved at 15:37.

Vital Signs Post-ROSC:

Pulse: Weak and irregular at 45 bpm

Blood Pressure: 80/50 mmHg

Respiration: Shallow and labored at 10 breaths/min

Oxygen Saturation: 78%

Transport Summary (15:45-16:00): Patient was loaded into the ambulance for transport to St. Anthony's Hospital. During transport, the patient exhibited further signs of cardiac distress. At 15:50, he experienced ventricular fibrillation (VF).

Intervention: CPR resumed, epinephrine 1 mg administered IV, and defibrillation attempted twice.

Outcome: No ROSC achieved after second cardiac arrest.

Time of Death: 16:00

Remarks: The patient suffered two cardiac arrests within a 30-minute period, likely indicative of a severe underlying cardiac condition. Efforts to stabilize were unsuccessful due to continued arrhythmias and compromised circulation.

Autopsy Report

Case Number: 2024-AU-1245 Date of Examination: December 7, 2024 Time of Examination: 09:00

Name: Daniel Carson Age: 20 Height: 5'11" Weight: 165 lbs Sex: Male Race: Caucasian

External Examination:

General Appearance: Well-developed and muscular young male. No evidence of external trauma except for mild abrasions on the back of hands and forearms, consistent with climbing activities. Skin pale with slight cyanosis around the lips and nail beds.

Scars/Marks: None significant.

Tattoos: None noted.

Clothing: Patient arrived wearing climbing shorts and a tank top.

Internal Examination:

Cardiovascular System:

Heart: Enlarged, weighing 420 grams (average for age/weight: 300-350 grams).

Valves: Mitral valve revealed significant calcification and fibrosis, indicative of a congenital defect. The defective valve exhibited stenosis, which restricted blood flow and created turbulent circulation.

Coronary Arteries: Severe occlusion (95%) of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery due to atherosclerotic plaque.

Myocardium: Evidence of acute ischemic changes and scarring, suggesting prior silent infarctions. The ventricular walls were thickened (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy).

Aorta: Normal caliber and appearance.

Respiratory System:

Lungs congested, with frothy fluid in the trachea and bronchi.

Right lung: 450 grams; Left lung: 430 grams.

Gastrointestinal System:

Stomach contained approximately 200 mL of partially digested food.

No abnormalities in the esophagus, stomach, or intestines.

Central Nervous System:

Brain weight: 1,450 grams. No gross abnormalities.

Other Organs:

Liver: Enlarged (1,600 grams), possibly due to mild congestion.

Kidneys: Unremarkable.

Spleen: Normal size.

Microscopic Examination:

Heart Tissue: Acute myocardial infarction visible in sections of the left ventricle.

Coronary Arteries: Advanced plaque buildup with rupture and thrombus formation.

Mitral Valve: Fibrotic thickening and calcification evident.

Toxicology:

No evidence of drugs or alcohol.

Summary and Cause of Death: Daniel Carson, a 20-year-old male, died from complications of a congenital mitral valve defect and severe coronary artery disease. The primary event was a massive myocardial infarction triggered by the blockage of the LAD artery. A second cardiac arrest during transport proved fatal.

Final Diagnosis:

Acute myocardial infarction secondary to LAD artery occlusion.

Congenital mitral valve stenosis and calcification.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy contributing to cardiac instability.

Cause of Death: Cardiac arrest due to a defective valve and blocked artery.

Manner of Death: Natural.

Signed by: Dr. Margaret Li, MD Pathologist