What is Coronary Artery Disease?

The damaging of the major blood vessels that supply the heart, oxygen, and nutrients, also known as coronary arteries, is coronary artery disease. Plaque is cholesterol-containing deposits. When plaque builds up, it causes the coronary arteries to narrow, reducing blood flow to the heart. This may lead to chest pain, shortness of breath or other symptoms. Complete blockage might result in a heart attack. As this disease develops over a period of decades, noticing a problem often only happens when there is a major blockage. The main causes of the disease are smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Other risks are obesity/being overweight, unhealthy diet and high amounts of stress.

Treatment

The usual treatment for this disease is to go through lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, eating healthier foods, losing any excess weight, exercising regularly and reducing stress. Medicine may also be prescribed like aspirin, which can reduce the possibility of blood clot. But this will actually depend on what is causing the disease and so medication will be given accordingly. If it becomes too severe, coronary artery bypass surgery is an option.

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