Coronary artery disease

Coronary artery disease
Other names	Atherosclerotic heart disease, atherosclerotic vascular disease, coronary heart disease
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)

Drawing of how the coronary arteries get clogged up with plaque

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.

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.

Symptoms

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

See the main article: Atherosclerosis

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.

Prevention

People can do many different things to keep themselves from getting coronary artery disease:

• They can change their diet. For example, they can eat fewer fatty foods, and take in as few saturated fats and avoiding trans fats as possible.
• They can eat more vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains.
• They can avoid drinking alcohol, and can take in less salt.
• They can exercise regularly.
• They can avoid becoming overweight or obese by doing things to control their weight.