Atheroembolic Renal Disease
Alternate Names : Atherosclerotic Renal Vascular Disease, Renal Artery Embolism, Cholesterol Embolism, Renal Artery Aneurysm
Atheroembolic renal disease is one in which the kidneys fail because the arteries that supply them become blocked. The kidney is then deprived of oxygen-carrying blood.
What is going on in the body?
Blockage in the renal arteries can be caused by these conditions:
an aneurysm, or bulging in the wall of the blood vessel
atherosclerosis, which causes a buildup of a fatty substance called plaque
an embolism, which is a blood or cholesterol clot that travels from some other place in the body
What are the causes and risks of the disease?
The following can cause atherosclerosis:
diabetes
high blood pressure
high cholesterol
infection
smoking
Some of the causes of blood clots are as follows:
arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats
coronary heart disease
heart valve disease
plaque buildup
The following can cause cholesterol clots:
complications from procedures on the heart, such as cardiac catheterization
medicine used to break up clots
plaque buildup
vascular surgery
Aneurysms can be formed by the following:
high blood pressure over a long period of time
plaque buildup
poorly understood genetic factors
trauma to the blood vessel, such as surgery or a gunshot wound
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