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CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE Approximately 13 million people in the CAD occurs when the coronary arteries become hardened and narrowed. This occurs due to the build up of plaque on the inner walls of the coronary arteries. As this plaque builds up the coronary arteries become narrower, decreasing the flow of blood through them. The decrease of blood flow to the heart decreases the amount of oxygen that is delivered to the heart. Reduced oxygen availability to the heart muscle can lead to angina, ischemia, and eventually death of the muscle. This is seen when someone has angina and an acute myocardial infarction. Also the plaque may break off from the wall of the artery and cause blood clots which can lead to a myocardial infarction. Angina is the most common symptom of CAD. There is a separate page on the web site that shows you the coronary arteries. Symptoms one might have with CAD include chest pain. This pain may present as a pressure or tightness in the chest. It may also radiate to usually the left arm/ and or to the jaw. Other symptoms may include shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, and diaphoresis. Risk factors for CAD include: *Smoking There are various methods to diagnose CAD. These tests include EKG, echocardiogram, stress test, cardiac catheterization, coronary angiography, and nuclear heart scan. We will not go into depth regarding these tests but this gives you a guide for knowing what information you can look for to further increase your knowledge of CAD. Treatment of CAD includes making lifestyle changes to reduce the risk factors associated with CAD. Some of these include eating a diet low in sodium and fat, which can help decrease blood pressure and cholesterol, and also decrease weight. Smoking cessation is extremely important in reducing the risk of worsening CAD. Exercise is important, losing weight, and reduction of stress. Medications used in the treatment of CAD include cholesterol lower medicines, anticoagulants, aspirin, ACE Inhibitors, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, nitroglycerin, and long-acting nitrates. Medications used in the hospital when treating Acute Coronary Syndrome include Glycoprotein IIb-IIIa inhibitors which are very strong antiplatelet medicines that are used in hospital during and after angioplasty or to treat angina. Thrombolytic agents dissolve the clots that can occur during a heart attack. Thrombolytic therapy is administered in the hospital. The sooner you receive these therapies after you have had a heart attack the more effective they are, therefore getting to the hospital as soon as possible is important if you think that you are having a heart attack. Call 911, do not drive or have someone else drive you to the hospital. Procedures to treat CAD disease include angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery. These topics will be addressed throughout this web site. *Information for this page was obtained from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute web site |
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