Heart Disease CAD Coronary Artery Disease

Heart Disease (CAD: Coronary Artery Disease)

Online web site HeartPoint defines Coronary Artery Disease as Coronary artery disease generally refers to the buildup of cholesterol in the inside layers of the arteries. As shown here, this will slowly narrow the flow of blood through the vessel, and the muscle it supplies will not get enough blood. The plaque weakens the wall. As shown in the lower artery, a crack may develop in the plaque and a blood clot may form - this is the mechanism of most heart attacks.

Examples and Symptoms of Heart Disease

Heart attack is an example of a heart disease that may be sudden or may start as a mild pain. Some of its symptoms are: chest discomfort, in which the patient feels pain in the chest and may feel painful pressure or squeezing in the chest; discomfort in other areas of the upper body, in which the patient feels discomfort and pain in the back, jaw, neck, or arms; shortness of breathing, in which the patient finds it hard to breath caused by pain in the chest; nausea; cold sweat (American Heart Association, 2002).

Stroke. According to American Heart Association, some of the symptoms of stroke are: numbness on parts of the body such as arms and legs, sometimes occurs on one side of the body; headache; difficulty in sight; loss of balance of the body; sudden difficulty in comprehension.

Cardiac Arrest is an immediate attack and causes a sudden breakdown of the body. Its consequences are: loss of consciousness, abnormal breathing, and sometimes failure of organs and senses to function (American Heart Association, 2002).

Risk Factors

Heart diseases are caused by several risk factors, either due to heredity or effects of other diseases. HeartPoint lists the following risk factors.

Male sex or women who are past their menopause (although women can take hormone replacement therapy).

Family history of early CAD in mother, father, sisters or brothers

Smoking

Diabetes

High cholesterol

High blood pressure

Overweight

Sedentary lifestyle, (not exercising enough)

Impact of Stress

Reports from researches indicate that stress is one of the causes of stroke and heart attacks on patients with CAD. Patients' reaction to stress causes high blood pressure increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiac arrest. The issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association reported that Japanese women who are highly stressed are at double risk of heart disease-related deaths compared to those with low levels of stress (Journal Report, 2002).

Prevention Strategies

Some of the methods doctors recommend to reduce the risk of heart diseases are:

Weight loss - Obesity is among the diseases that is considered a risk factor in heart diseases. Thus, weight loss may lessen fats in the body, minimizing the possibility of developing heart diseases.