Can you remove plaque from your arteries - from 10 years of smoking a pack a day and eating poorly?

Question

I quit smoking, exercise now and am eating better - but I can I remove the damage that has been done?

Answer 1

By following a nutritious diet, you can reduced the plaque buildup.  BUT . . . .

It may take  as long to reduce it as it did to build it up -- 10 years, in your case.

With this much potential damage, you need to be very concerned about clots (thrombosis).  If a big ol' piece of plaque breaks off, it could jam an artery, or worse travel directly to your heart.  This would cause MAJOR problems, and is potentially fatal

So don't be in too much of a hurry to clear out that plaque.  Doing it naturally, with a proper diet, is far better than any "cleansing diets" that might be available.

also, consult with your doctor concerning some of the new plaque-reducing medications, and see if they might be useful to you.

Answer 2

Not easily. There is week evidence that if you reduce your LDL cholesterol below 100, and your HDL above 60 that some arterial plaque formation actually starts to reverse. Getting below 100 is borderline impossible though.

However, if you stop smoking and lose weight, and drop your LDL it radically reduces the chance of anything happening. Basically the plaques stop growing, or slow down so much that they don't become large enough to rupture - easily at least. If you're at a point where you've occluded important arteries, such as those feeding your heart, or the carotid... well there's not a lot they can do for that. But the fact that they aren't growing significantly does reduce the chance of a clot getting thrown.

Oh, and if you stop smoking before your thirty (I don't know your age), your risk of smoking related illness declines so that by the point you're in your 40s-50s, your risk of smoking related illnesses is only marginally above that of someone who never smoked. Again, details vary.

Remember, the more you work at those things, the smaller your chance of problems gets, and it's all about reducing those chances.

Answer 3

Dr. Dean Ornish states   the you can. He did publish a how to book and I believe it's  called"reversing heart disease" Best of luck!   Donna . wait ,    I have his book somewhere, I'll check  the title and get back to you .Glad that I went and checked, the title of is "Eat More Weigh  less" It's a good book.