disease characterized by plaque building up in the arteries of the heart From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coronary artery disease, also called coronary heart disease (CHD), is a heart disease. ("Coronary" means "the blood vessels of the heart".) Coronary heart disease causes plaque to build up inside the coronary arteries. This causes the coronary arteries to become narrower and pressure to build, forcing the heart to work harder, as well as the risk of heart attacks or blockage of the vessels.
| Coronary artery disease | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Atherosclerotic heart disease,[1] atherosclerotic vascular disease,[2] coronary heart disease[3] |
| |
| Illustration depicting atherosclerosis in a coronary artery | |
| Medical specialty | Cardiology, cardiac surgery |
| Symptoms | Chest pain, shortness of breath |
| Complications | Heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attack, cardiogenic shock, cardiac arrest |
| Causes | Atherosclerosis of the arteries of the heart |
| Risk factors | High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, lack of exercise, obesity, high blood cholesterol |
| Diagnostic method | Electrocardiogram, cardiac stress test, coronary computed tomographic angiography, coronary angiogram |
| Prevention | Healthy diet, regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking |
| Treatment | Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) |
| Medication | Aspirin, beta blockers, nitroglycerin, statins |
| Frequency | 110 million (2015) |
| Deaths | 8.9 million (2015) |
The heart pumps blood full of oxygen and nutrients through the arteries, working with the lungs to get it to different parts of the body. Blood that is pumped back to the heart through veins contains carbon dioxide taken out of cells to be removed from the body. The coronary arteries are very important. They supply blood to the heart muscle. So when the coronary arteries become narrower, less blood gets to the heart muscle.
Most people with coronary artery disease feel healthy for years before they start experiencing symptoms. The most common symptom is a heart attack. If it is not treated, some of the plaques in the coronary arteries can break away and block the blood flow to the heart. Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of sudden death. It is also the most common cause of death in people over 65 years old. Men are 10 times more likely to get coronary artery disease than women.
Atherosclerosis is a form of heart disease. It causes fatty materials (like cholesterol) to build up in the arteries, forming harder materials called plaques. This causes the arteries to become narrower. It also makes it more difficult for blood to flow through the arteries. This can cause blood clots to form, blocking blood from traveling through the arteries. Small pieces of plaque can also break off and block smaller blood vessels.
If an artery becomes blocked completely, it causes serious problems. All cells, tissues, and organs in the body need oxygen and nutrients (carried by blood) to survive. If cells or tissues are not supplied with enough blood, they die. (This is called necrosis.) When this happens in the coronary arteries, a section of the heart dies. This can cause a myocardial infarction (a heart attack) to happen.
People can do many different things to keep themselves from getting coronary artery disease:
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