Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types, and driven by elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood. These lesions may lead to narrowing of the arterial walls due to buildup of atheromatous plaques. At onset there are usually no symptoms, but if they develop, symptoms generally begin around middle age. In severe cases, it can result in coronary artery disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, or kidney disorders, depending on which body part(s) the affected arteries are located in the body.
An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule, a bubble of air or other gas, amniotic fluid, or foreign material.
Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets (thrombocytes) and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss. Even when a blood vessel is not injured, blood clots may form in the body under certain conditions. A clot, or a piece of the clot, that breaks free and begins to travel around the body is known as an embolus.
A thrombus, colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cross-linked fibrin protein. The substance making up a thrombus is sometimes called cruor. A thrombus is a healthy response to injury intended to stop and prevent further bleeding, but can be harmful in thrombosis, when a clot obstructs blood flow through a healthy blood vessel in the circulatory system.
Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism. Ischemia is generally caused by problems with blood vessels, with resultant damage to or dysfunction of tissue i.e. hypoxia and microvascular dysfunction. It also implies local hypoxia in a part of a body resulting from constriction.
Interventional cardiology is a branch of cardiology that deals specifically with the catheter based treatment of structural heart diseases. Andreas Gruentzig is considered the father of interventional cardiology after the development of angioplasty by interventional radiologist Charles Dotter.
An atheroma, or atheromatous plaque, is an abnormal accumulation of material in the inner layer of an arterial wall.
Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) or intravascular echocardiography is a medical imaging methodology using a specially designed catheter with a miniaturized ultrasound probe attached to the distal end of the catheter. The proximal end of the catheter is attached to computerized ultrasound equipment. It allows the application of ultrasound technology, such as piezoelectric transducer or CMUT, to see from inside blood vessels out through the surrounding blood column, visualizing the endothelium of blood vessels.
A vulnerable plaque is a kind of atheromatous plaque – a collection of white blood cells and lipids in the wall of an artery – that is particularly unstable and prone to produce sudden major problems such as a heart attack or stroke.
An embolus, is described as a free-floating mass, located inside blood vessels that can travel from one site in the blood stream to another. An embolus can be made up of solid, liquid, or gas. Once these masses get "stuck" in a different blood vessel, it is then known as an "embolism." An embolism can cause ischemia—damage to an organ from lack of oxygen. A paradoxical embolism is a specific type of embolism in which the embolus travels from the right side of the heart to the left side of the heart and lodges itself in a blood vessel known as an artery. Thus, it is termed "paradoxical" because the embolus lands in an artery, rather than a vein.
Vascular disease is a class of diseases of the vessels of the circulatory system in the body, including blood vessels – the arteries and veins, and the lymphatic vessels. Vascular disease is a subgroup of cardiovascular disease. Disorders in this vast network of blood and lymph vessels can cause a range of health problems that can sometimes become severe, and fatal. Coronary heart disease for example, is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States.
Coronary artery aneurysm is an abnormal dilatation of part of the coronary artery. This rare disorder occurs in about 0.3–4.9% of patients who undergo coronary angiography.
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is retrosternal chest pain or discomfort that classically radiates to the left shoulder, arm, or jaw. The pain may occasionally feel like heartburn. This is the dangerous type of Acute coronary syndrome.
Embolectomy is the emergency interventional or surgical removal of emboli which are blocking blood circulation. It usually involves removal of thrombi, and is then referred to as thromboembolectomy or thrombectomy. Embolectomy is an emergency procedure often as the last resort because permanent occlusion of a significant blood flow to an organ leads to necrosis. Other involved therapeutic options are anticoagulation and thrombolysis.
Acute limb ischaemia (ALI) occurs when there is a sudden lack of blood flow to a limb within 14 days of symptoms onset. On the other hand, when the symptoms exceed 14 days, it is called critical limb ischemia (CLI). CLI is the end stage of peripheral vascular disease where there is still some collateral circulation that bring some blood flow to the distal parts of the limbs. While limbs in both acute and chronic limb ischemia may be pulseless, a chronically ischemic limb is typically warm and pink due to a well-developed collateral artery network and does not need emergency intervention to avoid limb loss, whereas ALI is a vascular emergency.
Arterial embolism is a sudden interruption of blood flow to an organ or body part due to an embolus adhering to the wall of an artery blocking the flow of blood, the major type of embolus being a blood clot (thromboembolism). Sometimes, pulmonary embolism is classified as arterial embolism as well, in the sense that the clot follows the pulmonary artery carrying deoxygenated blood away from the heart. However, pulmonary embolism is generally classified as a form of venous embolism, because the embolus forms in veins. Arterial embolism is the major cause of infarction.
Left ventricular thrombus is a blood clot (thrombus) in the left ventricle of the heart. LVT is a common complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Typically the clot is a mural thrombus, meaning it is on the wall of the ventricle. The primary risk of LVT is the occurrence of cardiac embolism, in which the thrombus detaches from the ventricular wall and travels through the circulation and blocks blood vessels. Blockage can be especially damaging in the heart or brain (stroke).
Blood vessel disorder generally refers to the narrowing, hardening or enlargement of arteries and veins. It is often due to the build-up of fatty deposits in the lumen of blood vessels or infection of the vessel wall. This can occur in various locations such as coronary blood vessels, peripheral arteries and veins. The narrowed arteries would block the blood supply to different organs and tissues. In severe conditions, it may develop into more critical health problems like myocardial infarction, stroke or heart failure, which are some of the major reasons of death.
Arterial occlusion is a condition involving partial or complete blockage of blood flow through an artery. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood to body tissues. An occlusion of arteries disrupts oxygen and blood supply to tissues, leading to ischemia. Depending on the extent of ischemia, symptoms of arterial occlusion range from simple soreness and pain that can be relieved with rest, to a lack of sensation or paralysis that could require amputation.
Feline arterial thromboembolism is a disease of the domestic cat in which blood clots (thrombi) block arteries, causing severe circulatory problems. Relative to the total number of feline patients, the disease is rare, but relatively common in cats with heart disease: about one-sixth of cats with heart disease are affected. Heart disease is the most common underlying cause of arterial thromboembolism. It leads to the formation of blood clots in the heart, which leave it with the bloodstream and obstruct larger blood vessels, in cats mainly the aorta at the outlet of the two external iliac arteries. Arterial thromboembolism occurs suddenly and is very painful. The blockage of the terminal portion of the aorta results in an undersupply of blood to the hind legs. The result is paralysis, cold hind extremities and later severe tissue damage. Rarely, other blood vessels are also affected; the symptoms of failure then depend on the supply area of the affected artery. Since drug thrombolysis in cats does not achieve satisfactory results, the focus today is on the self-dissolution of the clot by the body's own repair processes. Accompanying pain therapy and thrombosis prevention are performed and the underlying disease is treated. The mortality of arterial thromboembolism in cats is very high. Fifty to 60% of affected animals are euthanized without attempted treatment, and only one-quarter to one-third of animals survive such an event. In about half of the recovered cats, thromboembolism recurs despite anticoagulation prophylaxis.
