Coronary disease
Coronary heart disease is the narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, usually caused by atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis (sometimes called “hardening” or “clogging” of the arteries) is the buildup of cholesterol and fatty deposits (called plaques) on the inner walls of the arteries. These plaques can restrict blood flow to the heart muscle by physically clogging the artery or by causing abnormal artery tone and function.
Without an adequate blood supply, the heart becomes starved of oxygen and the vital nutrients it needs to work properly. This can cause chest pain called angina. If blood supply to a portion of the heart muscle is cut off entirely, or if the energy demands of the heart become much greater than its blood supply, a heart attack (injury to the heart muscle) may occur.
It is most commonly equated with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, but coronary disease can be due to other causes, such as coronary vasospasm.[1] It is possible for the stenosis to be caused by spasm.[2]
Causes
Coronary artery disease, the most common type of coronary disease, which has no clear etiology, has many risk factors, including smoking, radiotherapy to the chest, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, high alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, inability to manage stress, and hyperlipidemia.[3]
Also, having a Type A behavior pattern, a group of personality characteristics including time urgency and competitiveness, is linked to an increased risk of coronary disease.[4]
Treatment
Lifestyle changes and reversibility
Lifestyle changes have been shown to be effective in reducing (and in the case of diet, reversing) coronary disease:
- Healthy diet has been shown by Dr Esselstyn (along with other life-style oriented physicians such as Dr McDougall and Dr Ornish) to be hugely effective as a treatment of coronary disease, and generalized atherosclerosis. However, the idea of what composes a 'healthy diet' is highly controversial. In numerous peer reviewed studies the progression of heart disease has been shown to halt, and in some cases, the disease process may be reversed.[5][6]Information recommending the reduction of animal based foods and an increase in plant based foods has been established for over 50 years.[7][8]
- Weight control
- Smoking cessation
- Exercise
- Fish oil consumption to increase omega-3 fatty acid intake[9]
Medications to treat coronary disease
Surgical intervention
References
- ^ Williams MJ, Restieaux NJ, Low CJ (February 1998). "Myocardial infarction in young people with normal coronary arteries". Heart 79 (2): 191–4. PMC 1728590. PMID 9538315. http://heart.bmj.com/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=9538315.
- ^ Rezkalla SH, Kloner RA (October 2007). "Cocaine-induced acute myocardial infarction". Clin Med Res 5 (3): 172–6. doi:10.3121/cmr.2007.759. PMC 2111405. PMID 18056026. http://www.clinmedres.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=18056026.
- ^ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/coronary-artery-disease/DS00064/DSECTION=causes
- ^ McCann, 2001, the precocity-longevity hypothesis: earlier peaks in career achievement predict shorter lives. Personality & Social psychology bulletin, 27, 1429-1439; Rhodewalt & Smith, 1991, current issues in Type A behaviour, coronary proneness, and coronary heart disease. In C.R. Snyder & D.R.Forsyth (Eds.), Handbook of social and clinical psychology :) (pp.197-220) New York: Pergamon
- ^ http://www.heartattackproof.com/resolving_cade.htm
- ^ Preventive Cardiology; 2001; 4: p171-177
- ^ morrison l m "diet in coronary artherosclerosis" JAMA 173; 1960; p884-888
- ^ a b c http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/coronary-artery-disease/DS00064/DSECTION=treatments%2Dand%2Ddrugs
- ^ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/993.html
See also