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Coronary Artery Disease Research Paper

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Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a type of heart disease where plaque accumulates in the coronary arteries, which provide blood to the heart. The plaque is made of cholesterol deposits, and when it builds up in the arteries, it causes the arteries to slowly narrow (atherosclerosis). A very common symptom of CAD is angina, which is caused by the buildup of plaque. Angina is chest pain that is caused by reduced flow of oxygen rich blood to the heart. This makes the heart muscle weak, and can lead to another symptom of CAD, arrhythmia. Arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. However, sometimes these symptoms don’t show up at all. The first indication of CAD in some people is a heart attack. A heart attack is when a plaque buildup blocks an artery completely and thus, stops blood flow to the heart. Many doctors can treat patients who have CAD and/or have had a heart attack. Rakesh K. Pai on the WebMD Heart Failure Health Center lists some doctors that treat heart disease, like “General Practitioners (GPs) and Family Medicine physicians …show more content…

Heart disease is the number 1 cause of death in the world, with CAD being the most common type of heart disease (Maier 1). The reason why being conscious about preventing heart attacks is important to me personally is because several members of my close and distant family have suffered from CAD and later, heart attacks. It has been the cause of many deaths in my family, and with CAD being hereditary, it can cause problems for my health in the future too. Thinking about it is terrifying, and it’s not just me and my family that’s affected by it. With CAD being such a common thing, everyone is at risk for this possibly fatal disease. That’s why we need to be more aware of how to live a healthy lifestyle in order to prevent Coronary Artery Disease and other similar heart

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