Coronary Artery Disease – Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, And Treatment

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common form of coronary heart ailment. It is the leading cause of demise within the United States in both men and women.

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 through the arteries. As a result, the coronary heart muscle can’t get the blood or oxygen it wishes. This can lead to chest ache (angina) or a coronary heart assault. Most heart assaults show up whilst a blood clot suddenly cuts off the heart’s’ blood deliver, causing permanent heart damage.

Over time, CAD can also weaken the heart muscle and contribute to heart failure and arrhythmias. Heart failure means the heart can’t pump blood well to the rest of the body. Arrhythmias are adjustments within the normal beating rhythm of the heart.

Causes

The most commonplace motive of CAD is a vascular damage with ldl cholesterol plaque buildup in the arteries, called atherosclerosis. Reduced blood drift occurs while one or greater of those arteries becomes partially or completely blocked.

The cause depends on the type of coronary heart disease. The situation can also have more than one reason, which include plaque buildup or problems that have an effect on how the coronary heart’s blood vessels work. Several factors can increase your threat of growing the disease, including:

• Age.
• Family history.
• High blood pressure.
• High cholesterol.
• High cholesterol.
• Poor diet.
• Obesity or being very overweight.

Symptoms

An acute coronary event, together with a heart attack, can also motive the following symptoms:

Angina, that can feel like strain, squeezing, burning, or tightness at some point of bodily interest. The pain or pain generally begins behind the breastbone, but it may additionally arise within the hands, shoulders, jaw, throat, or returned. The ache may also sense like indigestion.

• Cold sweats
• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness
• Nausea or a feeling of indigestion
• Neck pain
• Shortness of breath, especially with activity
• Sleep disturbances
• Weakness

Women are extremely less likely than guys to revel in chest pain. Instead, they may be much more likely to experience:

• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Pressure or tightness in the chest
• Stomach pain

Women also are much more likely than men to don’t have any signs and symptoms of coronary coronary heart sickness.

Chronic (long-term) coronary coronary heart disease can motive symptoms including the subsequent:

• Angina
• Shortness of breath with physical activity
• Fatigue
• Neck pain

The signs may get worse as the buildup of plaque maintains to slender the coronary arteries. Chest ache or discomfort that doesn’t go away or happens extra often or whilst you are resting is probably a signal of a heart assault.

Diagnosis

In addition to a entire clinical history and physical examination, tests for coronary artery ailment might also encompass the subsequent:

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG): This check statistics the electrical activity of the coronary heart suggests peculiar rhythms (arrhythmias) and detects heart muscle damage.
Stress test (also called treadmill or exercise ECG): This test is given while you walk on a treadmill to monitor the heart during exercise. Breathing and blood pressure rates are also monitored. A stress test may be used to detect coronary artery disease or to determine safe levels of exercise after a heart attack or heart surgery. This can also be done while resting using special medicines that can synthetically place stress on the heart.
Cardiac catheterization: With this procedure, a wire is passed into the coronary arteries of the heart, and X-rays are taken after a contrast agent is injected into an artery. It’s done to locate the narrowing, blockages, and other problems.

Treatment

Your remedy plan depends on how intense your disease is, the severity of your symptoms, and any other fitness conditions you could have. Possible remedies for coronary coronary heart sickness encompass coronary heart-healthy lifestyle modifications, drug treatments, or methods together with coronary artery pass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention.

Lifestyle changes

• Aiming for a healthy weight
• Being physically active
• Heart-healthy eating
• Managing stress
• Quitting smoking
• Get enough good-quality sleep

Procedures

You may need a procedure or heart surgery to treat more advanced coronary heart disease.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to open coronary arteries that are narrowed or blocked by the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque. A small mesh tube called a stent is usually implanted after PCI to prevent the artery from narrowing again.
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) improves blood drift to the coronary heart with the aid of the use of everyday arteries from the chest wall and veins from the legs to skip the blocked arteries. Surgeons generally use CABG to deal with people who’ve excessive obstructive coronary artery disease in a couple of coronary arteries.
Transmyocardial laser revascularization or coronary endarterectomy to treat severe angina associated with coronary heart disease when other treatments are too risky or did not work.

When To See A Doctor?

It’s important to know your heart disease symptoms and what causes them. Call your doctor if you feel new symptoms or if the ones you’re used to are becoming more frequent or severe. Call for help if you or someone you’re with has chest pain, especially when it comes to things like shortness of breath, heart palpitations, dizziness, a fast heartbeat, nausea, or sweating.