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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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How Blood Vessels Can Predict One’s Health? Blood vessels are part of the circulatory system that transports blood throughout the human body. There are 3 major kinds of blood vessels, namely the arteries, the capillaries and the veins. Arteries carry the blood away from the heart, capillaries enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and the tissues, and the veins carry blood from the capillaries back toward the heart. Endothelium that lines the interior surface of blood vessels blood flow through contraction or dilation. Under normal circumstances, this dynamic tissue would ensure free flow of blood through the body so at to minimize clots and blockages. Problems in the cells that make up endothelium can cause progressive hardening and narrowing of blood vessels, called atherosclerosis. This can ultimately lead to cardiovascular disease. Scientists believe blood vessels play an important role in many health conditions. For instance, stroke and vascular dementia patients whose blood vessels are actually damaged before brain cell deficits happen. Studies have already shown it could be something that precedes neuron damage. A study found that changes in small blood vessels in children could be used to predict the onset of heart disease in later life. Researchers from the Institute of Cardiovascular Research in Dundee revealed that warning signs could be identified in children as young as 11. Their findings, which were presented at the BA Festival of Science held between 4-11 September in Exeter, were also published online September 11, 2004 in ‘The Pharmaceutical Journal’.
Researchers studied the health and performance of small blood vessels, known as micro-vessels, of 145 normal and healthy children aged between 11 and 14 in Dundee. They found that about 20 percent of the children tested had signs of endothelial dysfunction, though none had symptoms of heart disease. Endothelial dysfunction is believed to play an important role in atherosclerosis and is related to many risk factors linked to development of cardiovascular disease in later life. The microvascular function was found to be poorer in those children with higher body fat and signs of insulin resistance, both are cardiovascular risk factors. The study provided evidence for the link between endothelial dysfunction and the risk of developing atherosclerosis. Endothelial dysfunction can be considered as a predictive marker of cardiovascular status. People who suffer from endothelial dysfunction are more likely to develop either heart attack or stroke. Researchers argued that endothelial dysfunction is going to be a stronger predictor than blood sugar or cholesterol monitoring because the endothelial cells will be the first cells affected by any changing disease process, and they are fundamental to the way blood vessels work. Obviously, the findings could help doctors offer better advice to children. According to researchers, identifying children at risk of cardiovascular disease later in life would allow remedies to be taken early to stop the development. So when indicators of cardiac risk appear in childhood, life intervention should be made immediately. Unhealthy lifestyle factors, for example, should be identified, and physical activity, weight management and a healthy diet should also be promoted. In Singapore, a team of scientists develop a method to covert human stem cells into blood vessel cells that mimic those found in the brain, and use that to create brain-specific blood vessel cells of specific individuals to study them more closely. Hopefully, these studies would help them understand what makes these people genetically predisposed to vascular diseases. They are also trying to identify bio-signatures, such as certain proteins and circulating DNA in the blood, which show the health status of blood vessels. This would help them discover how these bio-markers alter the person’s underlying biology, and understand whether it is causal or a consequence of the disease. Their ultimate aim is to restore blood vessel health before diseases develop, which will make a difference to stroke survivors and people with dementia living out the last stages of their lives in a state of confusion.
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