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Understanding the DASH eating plan will help you start and follow this plan for life.

Three NHLBI-funded trials showed the health benefits of the DASH diet, such as lowering high blood pressure and LDL cholesterol in the blood, and shaped the final DASH eating plan recommendations.

DASH is a flexible and balanced eating plan that helps create a heart-healthy eating style for life.

If you have carotid artery disease, you can take steps to manage the condition, reduce risk factors, and prevent complications by making lifestyle changes, following your treatment plan, and getting ongoing care. Know the stroke warning signs and call 9–1–1 for emergency help if you think you are having a stroke.

Your doctor will diagnose carotid artery disease based on your medical history, a physical exam, and results from one or more tests: ultrasound, angiography, magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), and computed tomography (CT) angiography.

Carotid artery disease seems to start when damage occurs to the inner layers of the carotid arteries. The buildup of plaque or blood clots can severely narrow or block the carotid arteries, which limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your brain.

Carotid artery disease is a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the carotid arteries in either side of the neck. The common carotid arteries divide into internal carotid arteries, which supply oxygen-rich blood to your brain, and external carotid arteries, which supply oxygen-rich blood to your face, scalp, and neck.

You can't prevent inherited types of cardiomyopathy. You can take steps to lower your risk for diseases or conditions that may lead to or complicate cardiomyopathy through avoiding alcohol and illegal drugs, getting enough sleep, heart-healthy eating, physical activity, quitting smoking, and managing stress.

Many times, the cause of cardiomyopathy isn’t known. Cardiomyopathy can be acquired (you are not born with the condition but develop it due to another disease, condition, or factor) or inherited (your parents passed the gene for the disease on to you).

The types of cardiomyopathy include hypertrophic, dilated, restrictive, arrhythmogenic right ventricular, and unclassified cardiomyopathy.