A narrowing or hardening of the arteries has serious, in time even incurable, consequences. The victim literally degenerates, both physically and mentally. To this day more people in the civilised, industrialised world, especially in Europe, the United States and Australia die of diseases of the arterial walls, and the number of deaths is on the increase. The length of our life is often determined solely by the condition of our arterial walls.
Hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis) begins with a small alteration, which looks like a flat sore or ulcer. This sore then develops into a growth of the connective tissue, followed by a deposit of calcium salts, with the result that the inside of the artery becomes gradually narrower and the blood has less space in which to circulate. The artery loses more and more of its elasticity, eventually becoming hard and brittle. The blood pressure then rises and the victim may eventually the brain or a cerebral haemorrhage. Dilation of the heart or haemorrhage of a blood vessel near the heart, as well as nephrosclerosis (nephritis due to a hardening of the kidney blood vessels ) may also occur.
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