Return to top of page

New Film Unlocks Mysteries of Clogged Arteries, Causes of ASCVD

Published May 18, 2023

We all know that consuming healthy foods and getting daily exercise are important for our overall health, but the exact correlation between healthy choices and a healthy heart and cardiovascular system can seem like a mystery. A new resource from the Alliance for Aging Research explains how cholesterol and fat from our diet can build up and wreak havoc in our arteries and throughout our bodies.

A new film Arteries – The Highways of Life: Protecting Them Against Atherosclerosis, is a 4-minute glimpse into how atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases or ASCVD, can develop over time as deposits–called plaque—that can collect in the walls of the arteries. These plaques can lead to the narrowing or hardening of the arteries, resulting in poor blood flow to organs and even clots from pieces of plaque that break off and lodge in the arteries.

The build-up of plaque is called atherosclerosis and can lead to ASCVD.

A graphical wheel of risk factors related to ASCVD.

ASCVD includes diseases like cerebrovascular disease, coronary heart disease, aortic atherosclerosis, and peripheral artery disease, which develop based on which arteries are affected. Symptoms can be difficult to detect and may even look like other conditions.

To learn more about heart and blood vessel disease and prevention, watch the film and talk to your healthcare provider. Visit AgingResearch.org/ASCVD to learn more about how to decrease your risk and symptoms of ASCVD.

News & Updates