Perhaps there is a lot of people who have never even heard of the disease, which is atherosclerosis. However, only some firsthand imagine what it is. And some of these often held in captivity of certain myths. And yet, what is atherosclerosis? First of all, we should remember that atherosclerosis - a disease of blood vessels. Atherosclerosis of systemic disease, in other words, affects the entire body completely. The essence of the disease lies in the fact that at some point on the inner surface of arteries (in the normal state is very smooth, flat and shiny) are formed unusual growths - that is, plaques, which are round or oval formations with, basically, not very smooth surface and protruding into the cavity of a blood vessel, in this way, making it reduced the diameter and impeding blood flow through the vessels. These plaques can be quite a lot so they will begin to merge, vystilaya large areas of the inner surface of the arteries. In fact, it is easy to understand, especially for those who ever saw the old pipe for water supply at the cut. Well, to understand exactly how the build-up appears, you need to "learn" first with one of the sources of such diseases as atherosclerosis - cholesterol. Cholesterol - is a chemical compound, which belongs to the category of fats), which are located in the blood and interstitial fluid. And now about the factors leading to atherosclerosis. They can be divided into predisposing, contributing well and provocative. The first factor of rights does not depend on and influence them, we are not able to. Predispose to atherosclerosis: Hereditary causes. By the end of this mechanism has not yet been studied, but the fact that those who have in the nearest relatives of patients with coronary heart disease and even high blood pressure, is much more likely to develop the disease, no one in doubt. The next factor - gender. Women before the emergence of climacteric guard (to a certain extent) female sex hormones - called estrogen. Because of this, men are sick more often and also get sick before (approximately ten years). But, in separate studies revealed an increase in incidence among young women. It is believed that this phenomenon is directly related to tobacco-smoking as well as the use of hormonal contraceptives (there is an imbalance in their own system of sex hormones). Another factor - age category. Starting with thirty-five years for men significantly increases the risk of atherosclerosis as well as its complications. It is believed that the age of 35-50 years is not safe for most men in that aspect. Also have a factor is the psychological characteristics of man. Scientists have shown that more prone to atherosclerosis people with restless vitality, ambitious, highly motivated, who are used to achieve their goals. Usually, such people are much less resistant to stress and recharge the main risk group (this does not mean that you can not change your own reaction to stress, but the alternative responses to external stimuli - it is one thing, and especially the mind, predisposing to the disease - something quite different) .