Coronary Heart Disease

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Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. 13 million people are affected by this disease. CHD is also called Hardening of the Arteries, CAD. CHD is cause by the build-up of plaque in the arteries that connect to the heart. The build-up is caused by fat materials and other substances that form plaque. The plaque builds-up on the wall of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are responsible of the blood flow and oxygen that gets to the heart. The build-up of the fat materials causes the arteries to get narrow, this results in the blood flow and oxygen to the heart to slow down or even stop.

The heart and arteries are the major organs that are affected by the Coronary Heart Disease. Blood flow not circulating enough to the whole body also damages the heart tissue. The reduce blood flow causes the heart to work harder so the rest of the body can get blood. The kidneys are damage by CHD because the kidneys are not receiving enough blood. Just like the kidneys, the rest of the body organs are damaged as well due to the little blood flow they receive.

Signs and symptoms come along with any disease, some symptoms may be noticeable but sometimes there's just no symptoms at all. The common symptom for Coronary Heart Disease is chest pain and/or discomfort. This happens when the heart is not getting oxygen and blood. How strong the chest pains are varies from patient to patient. The chest pains my feel like the heart is being squeezed. The pain may be felt below the sternum but also in the neck, arms, stomach, and upper back. The chest pain usually occurs when the patient is doing activities or is in motion but it goes away with rest or a medicine called Nitroglycerin. Other symptoms are sho...

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...ry stent is a small metal tube that expands inside a coronary artery. The stent is placed during or after angioplasty. This procedure prevents the artery from ever closing up again.A surgery that treats CHD is Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery. This surgery creates new paths for the blood to flow to the heart. In this surgery the surgeon takes a vein from the leg or artery from the chest or wrist. The surgeon then attaches it to the coronary artery. The other surgery that treats Coronary Heart Disease is called Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery. In this surgery the artery bypass is done without stopping the heart. They put the patient on a heart-lung machine.

Every chronic disease has it own treatments and surgeries.

Works Cited

Http://www.nih.gov/

Http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

Http://www.mayoclinic.com

Http://www.webmd.com

Http://www.kidshealth.org

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