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Step 1
Research atherosclerosis for a better understanding of the condition. Most that suffer from it are primarily affected in the heart or brain. Also learn the symptoms that often accompany the condition. These include angina, blackouts, change in eyesight (blurred, grayed, or lost altogether), difficulty swallowing, dizziness, fainting, fugue state, lack of energy, memory loss, numbness or pain in the extremities, paralysis, jaw pain unrelated to known complications, and trouble breathing.
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Step 2
Make appropriate lifestyle changes. If arteries are clogged in the brain, such changes can mean the difference between life and death. If they occur in the heart, they can certainly be life threatening if they are not dealt with right away. Eat a healthy diet that is low in cholesterol and sugar. Exercise regularly; at least four times a week, for 45 minutes each time. Stop drinking, using any recreation drugs or smoking.
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Step 3
Make a doctor's appointment to obtain a proper diagnosis. He may require medical tests to rule out or confirm atherosclerosis. These could include one or more of the following: CAT scan, chemical stress test, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram, or PET scan. The test results may effect which of the following steps are recommended.
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Step 4
Take any prescribed medications exactly as instructed. Such medications are likely to be aimed at assisting healthy blood flow throughout the body. These may include aspirin, beta-blockers, blood thinners, calcium channel blockers, or nitroglycerin.
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Step 5
Submit to angioplasty if it is necessary to view arteries of the heart. In this procedure, a wire is inserted into the groin area up into the heart. Over top the wire guide a thin catheter with a balloon on the end is threaded into the same area. Then the balloon is inflated to force the plaque to flatten out against the arterial wall, reducing the amount of plaque and clearing a channel for additional blood flow.
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Step 6
Allow one or more stents to be inserted into the heart. A stent is a small tube shaped device that is inserted into the affected artery. Next the balloon is inflated to open the stent to allow it to conform to the arterial wall. This helps to prevent wall collapse while reducing plaque and increasing blood flow..
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Step 7
Determine if a atherectomy is advisable. This procedure inserts a catheter with a tiny drill on the end. It is inserted much in the same way as angioplasty is performed. Once the drill is in place, it is turned on to remove plaque in fine layers away from the arterial wall. The result is less plaque and better blood flow.
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Step 8
Ask about laser ablation. Similar in nature to artherectomy, this procedure inserts a fiberoptic probe into the blocked artery to destroy plaque by burning it with laser precision. Although this process is usually done only to widen the artery enough to allow insertion of a catheter and balloon, in some people, it has worked enough to temporarily abate plaque growth and increase blood flow.
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Step 9
Try PTMR (percutaneous transmyocardial revacularization). This procedure is usually reserved for those who have tried other procedures like Steps 5 through 8 above with unsuccessful results. Using the same leg entry site, a catheter is inserted directly into the heart. Then a laser beam is directed to burn tiny holes into the muscle to create new channels for blood flow.
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Step 10
Submit to a coronary bypass. For this procedure one or more arteries are removed from other areas of the body not affected by atherosclerosis. They are then substituted for damaged arteries to form a bypass by rerouting blood flow. Sometimes more than one bypass is required in order to provide the body with sufficient arterial blood flow and reduced arterial plaque.
