Preventing Coronary Artery Disease
Coronary Artery Disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States. It is a disease that involves a narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood, oxygen and other nutrients to the muscle of the heart. It may seem strange if you haven’t studied anatomy and physiology, but even though the heart has blood flowing through it constantly, this blood does not supply oxygen and nutrients to the muscle of the heart.
The coronary vascular system contains 3 main arteries ? the Left Anterior Descending artery, the Circumflex artery and the Right Coronary Artery ? these arteries branch off into multiple smaller arteries that supply blood to the areas further away from the main arteries. Coronary artery disease can affect both the large vessels and the small vessels.
There are many risk factors that can affect your likelihood of contracting this disease. Common risk factors for coronary artery disease include being overweight, not exercising and suffering from hypertension or high cholesterol. Diabetes, family history and age can also affect your chances of contracting this disease, which usually presents itself as atherosclerosis, which are deposits that build up in your vessels restricting the volume of blood that can flow through.
Blood vessels usually have the ability to stretch to let more blood through, but those who suffer from coronary artery disease lose this ability. Then when plaque build up inside the vessels is added in when the heart really needs the blood, such as when you exercise it will not get it.
As blood flow is restricted in the smaller vessels to the heart you may become aware of some off and on chest pain, which is called angina. Resting and de-stressing will usually relieve the pain, as can medication. However, the more often this happens the more likely that these attacks will leave behind damage heart muscle, which can never be repaired. If one of your arteries becomes blocked then this could result in a heart attack, or heart failure.
Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease includes medications prescribed by your doctor, lifestyle changes, minimally invasive medical procedures, and possible open heart surgery.
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