- Smoking, uncontrolled diabetes or insulin resistance, high cholesterol and high blood pressure damage coronary arteries. The body tries to fix the problem by making compounds to heal the arteries, causing plague buildup. Plague cause the arteries to narrow and harden, leading to coronary artery disease. Sometimes plague clumps break off and form blood clots that cause heart attacks, angina or stroke.
- Angina, or a tightening and squeezing feeling in the chest, neck, shoulders, arm, back or jaw, is the most common symptom of coronary artery disease. Shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling of the feet, ankles, legs, and stomach are symptoms associated with coronary artery disease that has lead to heart failure. Fluttery feelings or palpitations are other symptoms of coronary artery disease.
- Risk factors for CAD include getting older, being male, family history, having high blood pressure or high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and excess stress levels, along with smoking.
- Life-style changes that help improve coronary artery disease include eating a heart healthy diet, losing weight and becoming active, quitting smoking, and reducing stress.
- Cholesterol lowering drugs, aspirin, blood pressure medications, nitroglycerin, ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers are used to treat symptoms associated with coronary artery disease. Angioplasty in which a stent is inserted in the artery walls to open them and allow for more blood flow and coronary artery bypass surgery are other treatment options employed to combat coronary artery disease.
