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Coronary Heart Disease: A Leading Killer

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Have you ever imagine a body functioning without a heart? The heart, the center of the cardiovascular system, is the essential manager for just about everything that gives the body life. Correspondingly, most of the heart diseases are fatal and cannot be ignored. In fact, "heart disease is the leading cause of death for women as well as men"(1). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every 25 seconds someone has a coronary event(1). One of these diseases is coronary heart disease (CHD). "CHD is a condition in which certain substances builds up inside the coronary arteries"(2). When these substances block the flow of oxygen-rich blood, heart attacks most often occur. Heart attack, also known as myocardial infarction, is a serious event and a leading killer that has numerous symptoms and certain risk factors. …show more content…

Contradictory to what is often shown on movies, not all heart attacks start with the sudden and crushing chest pain. The symptoms vary among people. Some people especially diabetic have mild pain, and others suffer severe pain. Moreover, one person may have different symptoms in every heart attack. The earliest sign may be angina which is a temporary decrease in blood flow to the heart that is caused by exertion and relieved by rest. Another sign could be tightness or a squeezing sensation in your chest or arms which may spread to your neck, jaw or back. Others are cold sweat, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, indigestion, or abdominal

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