Clogged arteries increase your chances of having a stroke, heart attack and even death. Every year in the United States more than 700,000 people suffer from a heart attack. This condition is also called arterial plaque.

Arterial plaque results from the buildup of plaque on the inner walls of your arteries. It decreases blood flow and can completely block your arteries. However, a clogged artery treatment is necessary to prevent additional accumulation from arterial plaque. Read on to find out how to treat arterial plaque.

Stop Smoking

Smoking cigarettes increases your risk of developing atherosclerosis. This condition occurs when clogging and narrowing of your arteries are present. Atherosclerosis decreases the amount of oxygen available to your body and reduces blood supply.

Smoking also causes you to form more blood clots and damages the cells lining your blood vessels. This bad habit can cause fat deposits to form on the inner lining of your blood vessels. It eventually leads to atherosclerotic plaque and scar-like tissue.

Consider Bypass Surgery

Bypass surgery is one of the ways to treat arterial plaque. This surgical procedure changes the flow of blood around the partially blocked or blocked section around the artery in your heart. Creating a new path to your heart improves blood flow.

During bypass surgery, a blood vessel is taken from the chest, arm or leg to connect to the arteries in your heart. This allows the blood to bypass the blocked or diseased area. Symptoms like shortness of breath and chest pain should improve after surgery. This surgery can also decrease the risk of dying from heart disease and improves heart function.

Look Into Balloon Angioplasty

Balloon angioplasty is a non-surgical procedure that alleviates narrowing and blockage of the coronary arteries. It is done by inserting a small balloon catheter into your wrist or groin. The catheter is pushed forward to your narrowed coronary arteries to open them.

This procedure allows more oxygen blood to get to the heart muscle. A successful procedure stops or decreases the chance of a heart attack and alleviates chest pain.

It is common to hear your doctor say to live a healthy lifestyle. Living a healthy lifestyle is something that you should not ignore and actually do it. Eating a healthy diet and regular exercise decreases your chance for heart disease and high cholesterol. It helps to catch arterial plaque buildup in the early stages. You can catch this condition early with regular checkups. Contact a surgeon like Premier Surgical Associates if you have questions.