Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. It is also called coronary heart disease or simply, heart disease. The coronary arteries are the major blood vessels that supply your heart with blood, oxygen, and nutrients.
CAD is a condition where fatty deposits of plaque build up inside these vessels. This causes them to narrow and for less blood to flow to the heart muscle. When this happens, people may have chest pain (angina) or shortness of breath. Complete blockage of an artery can cause a heart attack.
CAD can also weaken the heart muscle over time. This can affect the rhythm of your heart beat (arrhythmia) or cause heart failure, a condition where the heart can’t pump enough blood for your body.
Risk Factors
There are many factors that can put you at risk for getting CAD. Some of these can be controlled and some can’t. For instance, people over the age of 65 are more likely to get CAD. Throughout life, men are more likely to get CAD than women and men die as a result of it more often. Also, genes (heredity) plays a role in CAD too, including race. African Americans, Mexican Americans, native Hawaiians, native Americans and some Asian Americans have a higher risk of developing CAD.
Other risk factors can be reduced by changing lifestyle or taking medicine:
- Cigarette smoke
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Physical inactivity
- Overweight or obesity
- Diabetes