In a recently published study, the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) in Spain brought hope to those suffering from atherosclerosis.
According to research, this disease, which consists of a predisposition to the accumulation of fat in the arteries and the formation of obstructive plaques, can be reversed. This logic contradicts the idea that atherosclerosis would be completely incurable.
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Furthermore, the study showed that young people are especially susceptible to the emergence of this disease. This fact creates the need to implement control and awareness measures.
In other provisions, research into the regression of atherosclerosis has indicated that the disease begins to emerge slowly in predisposed individuals, such as hypertensives and those with normally high cholesterol levels bad.
However, according to Dr. Valentín Fuster, who is General Director of the CNIC and Chief Physician of the Medical Center Mount Sinai in New York, careful assessment of patients from childhood can provide ways to combat illness.
“Screening for subclinical atherosclerosis from a young age, combined with strict control of risk factors, can contribute to reducing the global burden of cardiovascular diseases,” he highlighted.
In the image, ultrasounds that prove the regression of atherosclerosis over a period of 6 years. (Image: CNIC/reproduction)
To carry out the study, CNIC entered into a partnership with Banco Santander, a Spanish financial institution considered one of the largest in the world.
In total, 4,000 bank employees were examined from 2009 to the present day, in order to have their cholesterol levels measured over time.
In a questionnaire, volunteers were asked about family and personal predispositions to cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, these people underwent non-invasive analyzes used to examine the carotid, aorta, femoral and coronary arteries.
When publishing the research results, the experts responsible for it did not indicate any new type of intervention for cases of atherosclerosis.
On the contrary, the study only reinforced that it is possible to prevent and even reverse the onset of the disease through monitoring, especially for conditions such as hypertension and high cholesterol.
Dr. Borja Ibáñez, scientific director of the CNIC, cardiologist at the Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz and member of the CIBERCV cardiovascular research network in Spain, established the guidelines for this recommendation.
“These results point the way toward personalized approaches that use imaging technology to monitor the presence and progression of silent atherosclerosis, and guide the intensity of control factor risk,” she said.
Finally, Guiomar Mendieta, the scientist who proposed the research, pointed out that even after atherosclerosis has set in, it is possible to reverse it, as long as it is detected early. The methods for this, according to her, are the same: monitoring and application of appropriate treatments.
Graduated in History and Human Resources Technology. Passionate about writing, today he lives the dream of working professionally as a Web Content Writer, writing articles in several different niches and formats.
