Coronary Artery Disease
Kyle Chen, CSUN Nursing Student
NURS 302 – Pathophysiology
Professor Gelardi DNP, RNC, NNP, CPNP, CCNS
California State University, Northridge
August 3, 2015
Definition of Disease:
Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease and the #1 cause of death for both men and women in the United States resulting in about 375,000 deaths a year. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2014). This disease refers to “any vascular disorder that arrows or occludes the coronary arteries leading to myocardial ischemia” (Huether & McCane, 2012). It occurs when the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart becomes hardened and narrowed. Also, factors such as smoking, high levels of fat & cholesterol in the blood, hypertension, high levels of sugar in the blood, and blood vessel inflammation damage the inner layers of the coronary arteries. “This disease is prevalent in younger and elderly individuals. Coronary artery calcium is highly predicative of coronary heart disease event risk across all age groups” (Tota-Maharaj et al, 2014). Coronary artery disease is caused by the buildup of cholesterol and fatty deposits, or plaque, in the inner walls of the coronary arteries in a process called atherosclerosis. Normally, the coronary arteries are smooth and elastic, lined with a layer of cells called the endothelium. The endothelium acts as a physical barrier between the blood stream and the coronary artery walls.
Nevertheless, there is an understandable and noticeable link between circulatory related diseases and lifestyle diseases, such as Coronary Heart Disease. Coronary heart disease can occur when fatty acids, such as cholesterol in an inadequate diet, build up in the walls of the coronary artery. These fatty deposits collect minerals and harden to become a plaque. Eventually, this plaque grows and can swells up, forming an aneurism. In some cases, this aneurism may burst leading to instant death. As it continues to grow and swell up, it finally blocks the artery completely and forms blood clots. This is known as coronary thrombosis. A myocardial infarction, or in other words as heart attack, occurs when no oxygen is able to reach the coronary artery and thus it is unable to fulfil its role in providing the heart muscle with a sufficient supply of blood. Heart attacks are very common in the society nowadays, especially occurring in smokers or obesity related diseases (Millar, June 2014)
Atherosclerosis is a type of arteriosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is a general term for the thickening and hardening of arteries. Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is a pathological situation in which plaque builds up inside the arteries. Plaque is usually made of cholesterol, fatty substances, cellular products, calcium and fibrin (a clotting material in the blood). Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular disease (CVD) around the world. The magnitude of this problem is so high that atherosclerosis claims more lives than all types of cancer combined and the financial burden are considerable1. It a complex, chronic pathological
Coronary artery disease is one of the common forms of heart disease. It’s caused by the narrowing occurs in the coronary arteries so that reduces the flow of blood to the heart tissues. Through the artery is gradually narrowing because of a substance called plaque builds up inside the wall of coronary arteries, the heart may not get enough blood to work. (coronary artery disease)If the plaque ruptures, a blood clot can form around on its surface. Over the time, the blood clot can completely block the pathway, which can’t let any blood to go through.
Coronary illness is the development of plaque (fat store on the inward dividers of the veins) in the coronary conduits that supply O2 rich blood to the heart muscle, the development of plaque is called atherosclerosis. After some time passes plaques may solidify therefore limiting blood stream or totally obstructing the corridor. The development of plaque is straightforwardly identified with a people way of life, normal danger elements incorporate stoutness, high blood cholesterol and diabetes. At the point when the endothelium is harmed by blood stream, the cholesterol and fats in the blood get stuck shaping plaques. This outcomes in hypertension due the heart endeavoring to supply obliged levels of blood to the body. In the event that the blood stream to the heart muscles is limited or blocked it may
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)
One of the patient’s secondary diagnoses is atherosclerotic heart disease of native coronary artery without angina pectoris. He had a heart valve replacement in 2011. Atherosclerosis is a disease in which plaque made of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances builds up inside the arteries. This is an issue because the plaque hardens over time and narrows the arteries, which then limits the flow of oxygenated blood to vital tissues. This condition can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and death. Coronary artery atherosclerosis is the single largest killer of both men and women in the United States (Boudi, 2016). The patient’s atherosclerosis is located in the coronary artery. This artery is one of two main blood vessels that branch off
CAD is when the heart is subjected to a reduction in blood flow that negatively affects its ability to pump (McCance & Huether, 2014). The leading cause of CAD is atherosclerosis (Porter & Kaplan, 2011). Atherosclerosis is when fatty deposits, known as atheromas, deposit between the tunica intima and tunica media of medium and large coronary arteries (Porter & Kaplan, 2011). Macrophages and inflammatory cytokines detect the injury to arterial lining and attempt to protect the body by engulfing it and covering with fibroblasts and collagen (McCance & Huether, 2014). This results in the formation of an atherosclerotic plaque. As time passes the atherosclerotic plaque increases in size and causes complete or partial occlusion of a coronary artery
Many of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease cause problems because they lead to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the narrowing and thickening of arteries and develops for years without causing symptoms. It can happen in any part of the body. Around the heart, it is known as coronary artery disease, in the legs it is known as peripheral arterial disease. The narrowing and thickening of the arteries is due to the deposition of fatty material, cholesterol and other substances in the walls of blood vessels. The deposits are known as plaques. The rupture of a plaque can lead to stroke or a heart attack. (World Heart Federation).
The heart muscle requires a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to nourish it. The coronary arteries provide the heart with this critical blood supply. If you have coronary artery disease, those arteries become narrow and blood cannot flow as well as they should. Fatty matter, calcium, proteins, and inflammatory cells build up within the arteries to form plaques of different sizes. The plaque deposits are hard on the outside and soft and mushy on the
A sufficient coronary artery blood flow is essential to supply oxygen for normal cardiac activities (Craft, 2014, p. 599). Atherosclerosis is a common form of CHD. It is an inflammation disease when plasma cholesterol is high. Risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking and diabetes increase the risk of endothelium injuries, contributing to the increase in oxidated lipid-lipoprotein (LDL). Foam cell is produced by the increase in the number of macrophages signalled by oxidated LDL. Next, the accumulation of foam cells will cause the formation of fatty streak lesions on arteries walls. Over time, fatty streak lesions migrate to the site and form fibrous plaque due to the increase in smooth muscles and collagen. The thickening and hardening initiated by an accumulation in calcified fibrous plaque caused the blood vessels to narrow. As a result, a decrease in tissue perfusion contributing to the development of myocardial ischemia (Craft, 2014, p. 599; McCance & Huether, 2014, pp. 1145-1147).
Atherosclerosis is a disease affecting the innermost layer of large and medium sized such as aorta and coronary arteries. It is a slow developing disease, it is complex and often starts in childhood and progresses with increasing age (Miksch, Hunter, & Papailiou, 2005). It appears as focal thickenings called fibrofatty plaques in an artery wall, these plaques are
Atherosclerosis is a major form of cardiovascular disease which occurs through a processed known as arteriosclerosis in which the arteries become clogged with plaque buildup overtime. Formation of this plaque is due to the damage of endothelial cells (inner cells) that line the walls of arteries. Damage of these cells is triggered by unhealthy practices or other conditions such as smoking, lack of exercise, hypertension, diabetes or high cholesterol levels. As a result harmful material such as fat, cholesterol, palettes and other material deposit themselves into the damaged artery wall. These materials accumulate and form plaque which becomes covered with various cells that try to repair the damaged wall. These cells encapsulate the plaque
Atherosclerosis is a disease in which fatty materials and plaque buildup on the inner lining of arteries. Arteries are blood vessels which carry rich blood to the heart and throughout the body. They’re lined by the endothelium, a thin layer of cells. The endothelium keeps blood flowing by keeping the inside of arteries smooth. However, when Atherosclerosis starts due to high blood pressure, smoking, or high cholesterol, it damages the endothelium. Atherosclerosis tends to happen throughout the body and arises when people grow older. This disease is mainly due to the deposition of fatty materials i.e., cholesterol, calcium and other substances found in the blood. The buildup of fat then hardens causing narrowing of the arteries. This
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
Atherosclerosis is the process in which substances known as plaques, which are made up of cholesterol and platelets, adhere to tears in the walls of arteries. Over time these plaques build up to the point where they occlude blood flow in the arteries. When this happens in the coronary arteries, either directly, as the result of buildup in the arteries themselves, indirectly in the form a clot from another part of the body breaking loose and becoming lodged in the coronary arteries, the usual result is a heart attack.3