Nov 17, 2006

Heart disease and the death zone

Posted in Health, spectroscopy at 5:15 pm by David Bradley -- Click to comment

Arterial plaques represent a "death zone" within the artery in which white blood cells that would otherwise clear away such fatty deposits are killed before they can do their job.

The result is that these plaques eventually reduce the blood supply to the heart causing heart problems. These plaques can break apart at any stage in a person’s life, although most commonly in middle age, whether they are otherwise fit or not.

Chinese researchers have now used analytical chemistry to determine the toxic components of arterial plaques that are so deadly to white blood cells. Their finding not only improves our understanding of this form of heart disease, but might one day lead to new approaches to treating atherosclerosis.

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