Coronary heart disease - Definition and Treatment

What is coronary heart disease?

The arteries are the tubes that carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body. As part of the ageing process the arteries become less elastic and their diameter may narrow. On occasion a clot may form in a narrowed artery and block it. The muscle of the heart has four major coronary arteries feeding it. These arteries are prone to hardening (atherosclerosis). As the arteries become diseased their capacity is reduced and the heart muscle may become weaker. This chronic problem may lead to angina (central chest pain on effort) or heart failure. Sometimes a blood clot forms blocking a coronary artery (coronary thrombosis). The heart muscle, suddenly deprived of oxygen, is the site of the typical acute central chest pain. A severe heart attack is one of the commonest causes of death.

An interesting recent development has been evidence that coronary artery disease may have an infectious cause. One study has shown that men who had received antibiotics for infections were subsequently less likely to have coronary problems.

How can coronary artery disease be treated?

One of the principles in medicine is that prevention is better than cure.

There are three groups of medicines that may be considered in the prevention of coronary artery disease for women - Aspirin, HRT and statins.

Surgical Treatment of Coronary artery Disease

Since the 1970s, heart surgeons have performed major surgery by replacing diseased coronary arteries by grafting - usually veins.

A newer method to open up diseased coronary arteries is to introduce a balloon which is passed up into the diseased areas up through an artery in the groin - angioplasty

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