Q1. Why Revascularization is Needed?
With the increase of age, the atherosclerotic plaque (atheroma) in the blood vessel will cause the blood flow to decrease. When the blood flow is lower than 25% of the normal amount, the symptoms of local hypoxia are easy to appear, such as: pain, soreness, hair loss Numbness, weakness, inflammation, cyanosis, necrosis…etc. Severe vascular stenosis usually requires the placement of a vascular stent (stent) to expand, thereby increasing blood flow to improve hypoxia. Vascular reconstruction is to solve this problem. Medical reconstruction methods can use balloon dilation or vascular stent placement. Among them, the vascular stents are expensive, and in some cases, more than 2 stents need to be placed at a time. The placement process is cumbersome and time-consuming, and patients also require hospitalization and medical care.
Note1 ：Traditional vascular stents have a 30-40% chance of restenosis after placement; drug-coated vascular stents have a 10% chance of restenosis after placement; both have a 1% chance of acute obstruction and thrombosis。
Note2：The deductible for drug-coated vascular stents is about NTD:60,000 each。
Q2.Atherosclerotic plaque can now be tackled by drug or health food？
Medically, atherosclerotic plaques are considered irreversible lesions. Once they are formed, the only way is to reduce the speed of their growth and prevent the blood clots they cause from blocking blood vessels. is a common prescription. Other healthy foods (ginkgo biloba, fish oil…) have not been studied in this regard. After all, patients cannot change the fate of vascular stent placement, and blood vessels in some parts may not be able to place vascular stents.
Q3.Blood purification sessions can address atherosclerotic plaques？
A course of blood purification (plasmapheresis) can remove blood fat, LDL cholesterol, autoimmune antibodies, inflammatory substances, metabolic wastes, etc. from the blood, but it is ineffective for atherosclerotic plaques that have already formed.
Q4.How can we effectively solve the vascular stenosis caused by atheroma?
For decades, our research believes that the best way is to directly reduce the volume of atherosclerotic plaques, thereby increasing the local blood flow. When the blood flow increases from 25% to more than 75%, the symptoms of local hypoxia can be significantly improved. In the process, the vascular endothelium can also be repaired to prevent the occurrence of thrombus. This method is also called “revascularization”. It is currently the simplest, most effective, non-invasive, and most economical method. It is suitable for any part of the blood vessel and any degree of stenosis. The only exception is that completely blocked blood vessels cannot be reconstructed.
