Part 1
Strokes and Heart Attacks

Part 2
Inflammation, Germs and Atherosclerosis

Part 3
Spasm

Part 4
Blood Clots

Part 5
Stress

Part 6
Inflammation, Strokes and Alzheimer's

Part 4
Blood Clots

Atherosclerosis combined with arterial spasm creates blood clots, the final event that kicks off most strokes and heart attacks.

A blood clot is a is a jelly-like mass of congealed blood that can completely plug up an artery, shutting off the flow of blood..

In any discussion of blood clots, it's important to remember that the clotting of blood is a normal and necessary process. When you cut yourself, a clot must form at the site of the injury or you would bleed to death. Blood is a liquid, and the body maintains a delicate balance between the things that keep blood liquid and things that make it clot. Upset this balance and a clot forms -- sometimes, where you least want it! Here's how.

When spasm squeezes an artery clogged with cholesterol, the hard cholesterol plaque is also squeezed until it cracks. Once the plaque is ruptured, "soft cholesterol" spurts out, like egg white from a cracked egg. This soft cholesterol, often called the lipid core or lipid pool, is a super clot-producer. The moment it comes into contact with blood, it immediately begins to congeal it.

As a result, the blood quickly forms a clot at the site of plaque rupture. The clot forms right at the crack, but can travel downstream. The clot causes immediate narrowing or obstruction of the blood vessel which the body may not be able to dissolve. If a clot trapped in a heart or brain artery cannot be rapidly dissolved, a stroke or heart attack may result.

The more inflammation a mound of cholesterol plaque contains, the more likely it is to rupture and create a blood clot. This type of lesion is called "vulnerable plaque." People with vulnerable plaques suffer more acute coronary events - such as angina and heart attack - compared to people with stable plaques. Inflammation weakens plaque, which is why vulnerable plaque is more susceptible to splitting open and creating a blood clot.

For a full discussion of the sources and dangers of blood clots, and how you can protect yourself from their dangers, read The Heart Attack Germ or continue forward to Part 5 - Stress.

Part 1
Strokes and Heart Attacks

Part 2
Inflammation, Germs and Atherosclerosis

Part 3
Spasm

Part 4
Blood Clots

Part 5
Stress

Part 6
Inflammation, Strokes and Alzheimer's

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