Key takeaways
- Your blood vessels stretch more than 60,000 miles, about two and a half times around the Earth, carrying blood, oxygen and nutrients around your body.
- Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fatty deposits in your arteries; it can narrow or block them and lead to a heart attack or stroke, often without symptoms.
- Four steps protect your blood vessels: keep active, eat a heart-friendly diet, stop smoking and know your blood pressure and cholesterol.
You probably spend more time thinking about your heart than your blood vessels, but the two go hand in hand.
If your heart is a pump, your blood vessels are the network it pumps through: more than 60,000 miles of them, about two and a half times around the Earth. They carry blood, oxygen and nutrients to every part of your body and take away waste.
Dr Adam Haque, Co-Founder & Medical Director at Tomorrow Wellness, explains: “Your blood vessels take de-oxygenated blood to your lungs, which fill your blood with oxygen. Your heart then pumps this blood around your body through its vast network of blood vessels, to supply your organs with oxygen.”
What are the three types of blood vessels?
- Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart and around your body.
- Veins carry blood back to your heart.
- Capillaries, often microscopic, connect arteries and veins and deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues while taking away waste.
What is atherosclerosis?
If your blood vessels aren’t healthy, it can lead to atherosclerosis: fatty deposits building up inside your arteries.
“This can lead them to become narrower, restricting blood (and oxygen) to your vital organs and limbs, meaning they don’t work as well. Sometimes the deposits completely block the artery; if that happens in your heart, that’s a heart attack. Sometimes bits of them break off and clog smaller downstream arteries (embolism); if this happens to the arteries supplying your brain, it can cause a stroke,” explains Dr Haque.
The worrying part is that all of this can be happening inside your body without you having a clue.
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How can you keep your blood vessels healthy?
1. Get moving
Walking, cycling, swimming, skipping, running: whatever gets your blood pumping is good for your cardiovascular health, including your blood vessels.
“Keeping active plays a huge part in your blood vessel health; it helps improve blood flow and manages things like blood pressure and cholesterol, the risk factors which lead to fatty deposits in your arteries,” says Dr Haque.
2. Upgrade your plate
Plenty of foods support your heart and blood vessels. You don’t need them at every meal (eating perfectly all the time isn’t easy), but more oily fish, wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds can help support your whole cardiovascular system. Dr Haque also recommends cutting back on foods high in saturated fat and salt, which won’t do your heart and blood vessels any favours. Our guide to high-fibre foods is a good place to start.
3. Quit smoking
If you smoke, quitting is one of the best things you can do for your blood vessels.
“There are thousands of different chemicals in smoke and these can damage the inner lining of your blood vessels, which triggers the process of arterial disease. They also make your blood more viscous, and so more likely to clot,” warns Dr Haque.
4. Know your numbers
For real insight into what’s happening inside your blood vessels, know your blood pressure and cholesterol. If either is high you probably won’t feel it, so regular checks help you spot problems and deal with them before they cause real issues.
“A Tomorrow Health Check uses dynamic 4D testing to see how your body performs both at rest and under stress, to functionally assess your heart, lungs, blood, arteries, veins, kidneys, liver, cells and metabolism, all in one go,” says Dr Haque. The Ultimate Health Check adds vascular imaging and blood-flow analysis to look at your arteries directly.
See how your blood vessels are really performing. Book now
Frequently asked questions
How long are the blood vessels in the human body?
More than 60,000 miles, about two and a half times around the Earth.
What is atherosclerosis?
Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fatty deposits inside your arteries. It can narrow them and restrict blood flow, and if an artery becomes blocked or a piece breaks off, it can cause a heart attack or stroke.
How can I keep my arteries healthy?
Keep active, eat more oily fish, wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds, cut back on saturated fat and salt, stop smoking, and know your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers.
Can you have blocked arteries without symptoms?
Yes. Fatty deposits can build up in your arteries for years without symptoms, which is why checking your blood pressure, cholesterol and, where appropriate, imaging your arteries matters.