What exactly are the differences between arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis?

Question

I just need details about how they affect the blood vessels differently?

Answer 1

Atherosclerosis is a condition in which fatty material collects along the walls of arteries. This fatty material thickens, hardens, and may eventually block the arteries.

Healthy arteries are flexible, strong and elastic. Over time, however, too much pressure in arteries can make the walls thick and stiff — sometimes restricting blood flow to organs and tissues. This process is called arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

Atherosclerosis is a specific type of arteriosclerosis, but the terms are often used interchangeably.

Although atherosclerosis is often considered a heart problem, it can affect arteries anywhere in the body. For example:

When arteries leading to limbs are affected, one may develop circulation problems in arms and legs called peripheral arterial disease.
When arteries to the heart are affected, one may have coronary artery disease, chest pain (angina) or a heart attack.
When arteries supplying blood to brain are affected,one could have a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke.
Atherosclerosis can also lead to a bulge in the wall of artery (aneurysm).

Answer 2

Sometimes these terms are used as synonymous (probably because they do not differ in their clinical sequelae or management at this time).

More precisely, arteriosclerosis is a term that describes the thickening artery walls, making them them less elastic, and caused by a variety of conditions (e.g. not only by dyslipidemia) that cause arterial walls to thicken and lose elasticity.

Atherosclerosis is a form of arteriosclerosis which describes narrowing & hardening of the body's major arterial vessels.

Arteriosclerosis is the more general term; a form of arteriosclerosis caused by hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia.

Answer 3

One is the hardening of the arteries usually associated with advanced age, the other has to do with plaque build up usually associated with eating saturated fats or high cholesteral foods