Introduction
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is caused by reduced blood flow in the coronary arteries. This subsequently leads to reduced oxygenation to the myocardium, resulting in transient ischemia or angina. CAD may cause permanent damage to myocardial cells or infarction. The left ventricle of the heart is most susceptible to CAD.
The causes of CAD include atherosclerosis, congenital defects, coronary artery spasm, dissecting aneurysm, infectious vasculitis and syphilis. Atherosclerosis and vasospasm are the most prevalent causes of CAD, with atherosclerosis being the most common.
Pathophysiology
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is the hardening of the arteries. It occurs when fat, cholesterol and other substances build up in the walls of the arteries and form plaques. It primarily affects the intima of the arterial wall. The process of atherosclerosis begins when the body attempts to heal any irritation, damage or injury to the endothelial lining. CAD progresses though three developments, which are, the fatty streak, the fibrous plaque, and the complicated lesion.
(1) The Fatty Streak
Fatty streaks contain atherogenic lipoproteins and macrophage foam cells. The streak is caused by the development of fatty, lipid-rich lesions that result from macrophages adhering to the vessel’s intact endothelial surface. The streaks usually form between the endothelium and internal elastic lamina of the vessel. The macrophages engulf the lipids, produce a fibrous tissue and stimulate calcium deposition, leading to a thickening of the intimal layer. The smooth muscle cells then migrate to the intima and become lipid laden. Lesions at this stage do no obstruct the artery. However, the continuous cycle results in the transformation of the fat...
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...as the other end is attached to the coronary artery distal to the arterial stenosis. On the other hand, LIMA is carefully dissected away from the chest wall. The distal end of the LIMA is anastamosed to the left anterior descending artery (LAD) whereas the proximal end remains attached to the left subclavian artery. Most CABG procedures use LIMA to bypass the LAD because it has a greater long-term patency than an SVG. The use of LIMA is also associated with a greater rate of long-term survival. At the end of the procedure, the heart is restarted and the sternum is closed and held together with wires.
After the procedure, patients will typically need 1 to several days of intensive care unit management and then up to a week more of further care. Patients with poor exercise capacity before the procedure usually take longer to recover and recover good functional status.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of multifactorial chronic heart disease. It is a consequence of plaque buildup in coronary arteries. The arterial blood vessels, which begin out smooth and elastic become narrow and rigid, curtailing blood flow resulting in deprived of oxygen and nutrients to the heart [1].
Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fatty material called plaque along the walls of the arteries. This causes arteries to become narrowed and less flexible.
1) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)/Coronary Heart Disease (CHD): In the United States, CAD accounts for one death every minute making it a leading cause of death (Kones, 2011). Individuals at risk for CAD include those with modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. Non-modifiable risk factors for CAD include: age, race, family history. Modifiable risk factors include: hypertension, obesity, smoking, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and minimal to no physical exercise. If untreated, CAD can lead to heart failure (Kones, 2011). Individuals with CAD may present to their primary care providers with symptoms such as: angina, shortness of breath, indigestion/heartburn, and dyspnea on exertion. Individuals develop CAD when plaque obstructs the coronary arteries
Have you ever felt a chest pain, sudden dizziness, weakness, fatigue, etc.? If you answered “Yes” to any of this, it can be Atherosclerosis. On this paper I’m going explain in detail what does Atherosclerosis means. What are the causes, symptoms, treatments? Can we melt the fatty plaques naturally? And more different information in relation to this subject. Atherosclerosis is not an illness that you get from one day to another, actually is an illness that by age, high pressure, the type of your diet, lack of exercise, even people with diabetes would have atherosclerosis with the time. But is not something that cannot be treated, you can go to the doctor for a checkup, change of diet, increase your physical exercise, etc.
CHD is primarily due to atherosclerosis, which is the blockage of blood flow in the arteries due to the accumulation of fats, cholesterol, calcium and other substances found in the blood. Atherosclerosis takes place over many years, but when the blood flow becomes so limited due to the build up of plaque in the arteries, there becomes a serious problem. “When...
Coronary artery disease is thought to begin with damage or injury to the inner layer of a coronary artery, sometimes as early as childhood. The damage may be caused by various factors including smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and radiation therapy to the chest. Once the inner wall of an artery is damaged, fatty deposits made of cholesterol and other cellular waste products tend to accumulate at the site of injury in a process called atherosclerosis. If the surface of these plaques breaks or ruptures, blood cells called platelets will clump at the site to try to repair the artery. This clump can block the artery, leading to a heart attack.
Coronary heart disease is defined by the hardening of the epicardial coronary arteries. The buildup of plaque in the arteries slowly narrows the coronary artery lumen. In order to better understand the physiology of the disease, it is important to first know the basic anatomy of the human heart. The aorta, located in the superior region of the heart, branches off into two main coronary blood vessels, otherwise known as arteries. The arteries are located on the left and right side of the heart and span its surface. They subsequently branch off into smaller arteries which supply oxygen-rich blood to the entire heart (Texas Heart Institute, 2013). Therefore, the narrowing of these arteries due to plaque buildup significantly impairs blood flow throughout the heart.
Artherosclerosis is characterized by fatty deposits that develop as streaks inside the lining of arteries and some streaking can be found in teenagers and then by an increasing proportion of the population from then on. If you were to ask the experts what causes arteriosclerosis the answer would depend on the expert. Researchers do not agree on the causation but they have agreed on possible risk factors such as smoking, a high fat diet, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, high iron levels, inflammation and bad genes. None of which appear to be the primary cause because if you were to eliminate one possible cause you should eliminate the disease. Many researchers have begun to think that many diseases including cancers originate as a composite of risk factors and that approach does not make sense because it suggests that Human arteries are so fragile that any one or combination of the...
Atherosclerosis is a disease in which plaque builds up inside the arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart and other parts of your body. It develops by the accumulation of excess Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) in the arterial wall causing damage to the vascular endothelium which increases expression of adhesion molecules that latch onto monocytes and T cells and decreases the ability of the endothelial cells to release Nitric oxide (NO). Monocytes and LDL accumulates at the site of injury then penetrates the intima where monocytes differenciate to become macrophages and the ...
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.
Cardiovascular disease is developed by a build-up of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the blood vessels, which typically takes years to accrue (World Health Organization). The development of the fatty-acid deposits can occur due to an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and a harmful intake of alcohol. The behavioral risk factors listed above account for about 80% of cardiovascular disease, with the other 20% being cause by fixed risk factors (age, gender, race).
What is coronary heart disease (CHD)? It is a disease when plaque gets built up in the coronary arteries; and the job of the arteries are to provide rich-oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. Built plaque in the arteries leads to atherosclerosis and the plaque that is built can result from over the years. Throughout the years, the plaque tends to get hard or can rupture. If hardened, the arteries are now narrow and have weakened the flow of blood that travels to the heart. Blood clots can form from the plaque rupturing which can cause a great chance for the blood flow to be mostly blocked or blocked altogether. There are other names for coronary heart disease such as coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, etc.
Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of CAD. Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease characterized by fat deposits in the arteries causing them to block the normal passage of blood. No one is quite sure how atherosclerosis develops. The plaque consists mostly of cholesterol, phospholipids and smooth muscle cells. They also reduce the size of the lumen of the affected artery which impairs the blood flow of this artery and later on could form a thrombus that will completely occlude the vessel. “Unfortunately, signs and symptoms of atherosclerosis usually don’t develop until at least 70% of an artery’s lumen has become obstructed. Angina is almost always the first symptom to appear.”(Journal: The killer behind CAD,2010). Modifiable factors that could prevent the occurrence of CAD include cigarette smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, atherogenic diet like diet high in cholesterol, use of contraceptive and hormone therapy replacement. “Women continue to ...
Atherosclerosis is a disease that occurs when arteries become blocked, inflamed, or hardened. As a result of this, blood cannot easily pass through the artery, and blood pressure increases. Many people suffer from atherosclerosis as they age, but young people can be affected by atherosclerosis also. There are many preventative steps that can be taken to decrease the risk of atherosclerosis; however, if atherosclerosis does develop in the arteries, medications can be given to help the individual receive adequate blood flow to important tissues. Atherosclerosis is a very serious condition that requires medical attention and a change in life style because it is a precursor to many dangerous and potentially fatal diseases.
Myocardial infarction occurs when the coronary arteries are blocked by a blood clot. It is commonly known as “heart attack”. The heart needs its own constant supply of oxygen and nutrients to work properly. Two coronary arteries delivery oxygenated blood to the heart, and if one of these two arteries fail or become blocked, then a portion of the heart will not acquire the necessary oxygen. This clot could be because of CAD (coronary artery disease), which happens when the inner walls of the coronary arteries thicken because of build up of cholesterol, fatty deposit, calcium among other elements that are carried in the blood (Boston Scientific, 2009).