Coronary Artery Disease
“Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. It is the leading cause of death in the United States in both men and women. Coronary heart disease is a common term for the buildup of plaque in the heart’s arteries that could lead to heart attack. But what about coronary artery disease? Is there a difference? The short answer is often no — health professionals frequently use the terms interchangeably (Medline Plus).”
“CAD happens when the arteries that supply blood to heart muscle become hardened and narrowed. This is due to the buildup of cholesterol and other material, called plaque, on their inner walls. This buildup is called atherosclerosis. As it grows, less blood can flow
…show more content…
This is also called ischemia. It may be chronic, caused by narrowing of the coronary artery and limitation of the blood supply to part of the muscle. Or it can be acute, resulting from a sudden plaque that ruptures (American Heart Association)”. The traditional risk factors for coronary artery disease are high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, family history, diabetes, smoking, being post-menopausal for women and being older than 45 for men, according to Fisher. Obesity may also be a risk factor.
“Coronary artery disease begins in childhood, so that by the teenage years, there is evidence that plaques that will stay with us for life are formed in most people,” said Fisher, who is also editor and chief of the American Heart Association journal, ATVB. “Preventive measures instituted early are thought to have greater lifetime benefits. Healthy lifestyles will delay the progression of CAD, and there is hope that CAD can be regressed before it causes CHD.”
Living a healthy lifestyle that incorporates good nutrition, weight management and getting plenty of physical activity can play a big role in avoiding CAD. “Coronary artery disease is preventable,” agreed Johnny Lee, M.D., president of New York Heart Associates, and an American Heart Association board member and volunteer. “Typical
Although the term cardiovascular disease refers to a disorder of the cardiovascular system, it is usually associated with atherosclerosis, also known as arterial disease. It is considered the leading cause of deaths in the world, taking 17.1 million lives a year. There are only a few factors that are non-modifiable, these being the persons age, gender, family history and their race and ethnicity. Although there are non-modifiable risk factors, there are multiple multiple risk factors that are modifiable that anyone can use to prevent getting any type of cardiovascular disease. These people just need to have the motivation to be able to change themselves and their lifestyles in order to better
Taking action to the risk factors of arteriosclerosis can prevent or delay the disease. The risk of arteriosclerosis increase with the number of risk factors you have. A big step of arteriosclerosis prevention is to live a healthy lifestyle which includes:
After time of accumulation and build up the plaque it becomes hardened plaque, and the hardened plaque makes the coronary arteries narrower, which lead to reduce the blood flow to the heart muscles.
Coronary artery disease Coronary arteries are blood vessels that carry blood to the heart muscle. The coronary artery disease (also called CAD, for its acronym in English) or coronary heart disease is caused by a thickening of the inner walls of the coronary arteries. This thickening is called atherosclerosis. A fatty substance called plaque builds up inside the thickened walls of the arteries and obstructs or delays the flow of blood. If the heart muscle does not receive enough blood to function properly, you may have angina or a heart attack.
Coronary heart disease: Coronary heart disease is the build-up of plaque such as cholesterol and other fatty substances within the coronary arteries causing a reduced or no supply of oxygen to the heart. The process of plaque lining the coronary arteries is called arteriosclerosis. Coronary heart disease can be caused and triggered by many different factors. These
Coronary Artery Disease, also known as CAD, is the most common form of heart disease. (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009) Coronary Artery Disease obstructs the blood flow in vessels that provides blood to the heart which is caused by the buildup of plaque on the artery walls. (Rogers, 2011, p.87) (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009) Plaque is a yellow substance that consists of fat substances, like cholesterol, and narrows or clogs the arteries which prevents blood flow. (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009) Plaque can build up in any artery but usually favors large and medium sized arteries. (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009)
Coronary artery disease (CAD) develops when plaque builds up in the narrow arteries of the heart. The arteries that are affected supply blood to your heart, oxygen, and numerous amounts of nutrients to the heart. The plaque that builds in the arteries is from the amount of cholesterol that is accumulated in the arteries. The plaque that builds within the arteries of the heart decrease the blood flow to the heart often resulting in chest pain (angina), shortness of breath, or other symptoms. This disease is often not diagnosed until the patient has a heart attack. The reason that coronary artery disease goes unnoticed is because this disease develops over decades. “Heart disease is the leading cause of
As mentioned before, CAD is caused by the unwanted build-up of plaque within the walls of the coronary arteries which leads to restriction of blood flow to the heart (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Risk factors that are associated with increasing one’s chance of developing CAD are high cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes/obesity, sedentary lifestyle, high stress, and family history (Mayo Clinic, 2017). There are two forms of cholesterol that travel within the blood: HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) known as the good cholesterol and LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) known as the bad cholesterol. High cholesterol is correlated with high levels of LDL cholesterol and low levels of HDL cholesterol. The reason high cholesterol levels increase
Men older than age 45 can get coronary artery disease and women over the age 55 can get the disease as well because they can have a history of early heart disease. Some risk factors can also be High blood cholesterol levels (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol),High blood pressure, Cigarette smoking, Diabetes mellitus, Obestiy, Lack of physcial activity, Metabolic syndrome, and Mental stress and depression. There are also some non traditional risk factors like C-reactive protein which can cause inflammation and can also casue a heart attack, Lipoprotein, Homocysteine, Small dense LDL-C proteins and Fibrinogen. The coronary aretery disease starts with growth within the walls of the coronary arteries until the blood flow of the heart muscle is limited which is also
According to Porth’s textbook, coronary artery disease is caused by impaired coronary blood flow. This can cause ischemic disorders ranging from angina to myocardial infarction and other heart defects like heart failure and even cardiac death. If the coronary arteries are not circulating properly, this will cause the heart defects, heart failure, and possibly death. Coronary circulation involves the arteries that supply the blood to the heart. It occurs when the arteries become narrow and also hardened caused by a buildup of plaque and cholesterol. This is called atherosclerosis which is the most common cause of CAD. Porth’s textbook also includes that less blood flow
Since 1960 the age-adjusted mortality rates for cardiovascular disease (CVD) has declined steadily in the U.S. due to multiple factors, but still remains one of the primary causes of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. Greater control of risk factors and improved treatments for cardiovascular disease has significantly contributed to this decline (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). In the U.S. alone it claims approximately 830,000 each year and accounts for 1/6 of all deaths under the age of 65 (Weiss and Lonnquist, 2011). Based on the 2007 mortality rate data an average of 1 death every 37 seconds is due to cardiovascular disease (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2009). Controlling and reducing risk factors is crucial for
CAD is a chronic process that takes a life time to develop and manifest itself. It occurs when the coronary artery that supplies the heart with blood, oxygen and nutrients becomes narrow or blocked by fatty plaques. Atherosclerosis which is the buildup of cholesterols deposits within intima of the arteries are the common causes of CAD. Inflammation due to an injury to endothelium cell plays a vital role in the formation of atherosclerosis. Typically, the inner lining of the vessel wall (Endothelium) does not coagulate with thrombocytes, white blood cells or other coagulation factors. However, when the endothelium gets injured due to smoking, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, infection causing inflammatory system will respond to the injured
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is caused by fatty buildup in the arteries of the heart. Your arteries are made to carry oxygen infused blood to your heart and other parts of your body if it is filled up with plaque, which is the fatty substance that clogs and blocks up the arteries. If it gets clogged enough to where your heart is not receiving fresh oxygen, you could have a heart attack that could cause very serious damage to your body and could even kill you. When you are younger, you can begin to grow plaque in your blood vessels from not eating right and not exercising regularly. When your arteries are being filled up with plaque they become more narrow and harder for blood to get through as easily as it is supposed to be. When you have
Some risks for CAD could be smoking, HTN, obesity, bad cholesterol, diabetes, and genetics. There are so many risk factors for CAD, but most of them can be lowered by changing one’s lifestyle. Usually, up till the age of 70, males may have a higher chance for CAD.
Heart muscle supplied by that artery to die, which is called a "myocardial infarction" or heart attack. Since the chief problem is the blockage, the chief treatment is to relieve the blockage, which can be done with bypass surgery or stenting. The traditional view of CAd then, focuses on blockages, which means that precise anatomic location and degree of blockages is critical in assessing CAD. Diagnostic tests that do not provide this information and treatments that do not relieve the blockages are not fully adequate.