Why do your blood vessels get clogged as you age?

4 min readApr 20, 2022

Did you know? There is a coagulation system and an anti-coagulation system in the human blood, and under normal circumstances, the two maintain a dynamic balance.

The formation of blood clots is actually an act that the body must produce. When the blood vessels in the body are damaged, the body mechanism will automatically form blood clots to repair the vessel walls and protect the blood from flowing out.

If the human body cannot produce blood clots, it means that when any part of the body gets injured and bleeds continuously. It will lead to death. For example, in hemophilia, blood clots cannot be produced as usual, nor can the injured parts of the body stop bleeding.

But..

Under particular circumstances, such as slow blood flow, coagulation factor lesions, and coagulation disorders, it will break the dynamic balance, so when blood vessels are damaged, it is easy to put people in a “prone state”, resulting in the formation of thrombosis. Once the thrombus is formed, it will block the blood vessel, causing ischemia of the organ and also causing severe complications and even sudden death.

What?
The culprit is him?

The inner wall of a healthy blood vessel is very smooth without any material deposits. However, as we grow older, various unhealthy lifestyles cause the blood vessels in the human body to gradually change.

The cause of stroke is actually the blockage of blood vessels in the heart and brain, and the culprit is the formation of plaque.

The initial symptom of the whole process is the damage to the inner wall of the blood vessels

When the body detects damage to the lining of a blood vessel, it activates the “clotting mechanism,” , just like the skin will scab when it is broken, and the inner wall will also have a “scrubbing”-like reaction.

Lipids in the blood, such as triglycerides and bad cholesterol, pass through the damaged lining and enter the vessel wall.

these fat-laden cells build up and form plaques.

If you have bad habits such as smoking, alcoholism, staying up late, high oil and salt diet and unstable emotions

It will be easier to increase the concentration of lipids in the blood vessels and accelerate the formation of plaques.

Once the lipids (such as triglycerides and bad cholesterol) in the blood are too high, they build up and become “garbage” in the blood vessels. This is a key factor in plaque formation.

Plaque formation is complex and clinically divided into hard and soft plaques.

Hard plaques do not easily detach from the vessel wall and are less likely to rupture.

It is just that as the plaque increases in size, it may cause narrowing of the blood vessel wall, resulting in blockage of the blood vessel.The soft plaque is extremely unstable and may rupture under the influence of sudden changes in the blood flow, blood pressure increase, and other factors exposed in the blood flow.

At this time, the platelets in the blood will stop the bleeding and accumulate around it, and the accumulation will form larger clumps. And it is easy to rupture. Once ruptured, it will lead to acute thrombus formation, block the blood vessels, and cause acute myocardial infarction or acute cerebral apoplexy.