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Atherosclerosis And Coronary Artery Disease
Atherosclerosis -- sometimes called hardening of the arteries -- can slowly narrow the arteries throughout your body.
When atherosclerosis affects arteries that carry blood to the heart muscle, it's called coronary artery disease, or CAD. That's the No. 1 killer of Americans. Most of those deaths are from heart attacks caused by blood clots.
Atherosclerosis can create life-threatening blockages -- without you ever feeling a thing. Since we're all at risk for coronary artery disease, it's worth learning more about atherosclerosis.
Many of us have heard that clogged arteries lead to heart attacks. But how does atherosclerosis cause coronary artery disease?
First, the coronary arteries' smooth interior surface is damaged. High blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, cigarette smoking, and diabetes are the most common reasons why.
LDL -- or "bad" cholesterol -- then starts to build up in the coronary artery's wall. The body sends a "clean-up crew" of white blood cells and other cells to the toxic site.
Over the course of years, continuing buildup of cholesterol and the body's response to it create a plaque. That's a bump on the artery wall that can obstruct blood flow.
Atherosclerosis plaques in the coronary arteries can behave in several ways:
They can grow slowly, never blocking the artery or causing clots.
They can expand and block blood flow in a coronary artery. This may cause no symptoms, even when the artery is very blocked.
Other times, a blockage does cause symptoms. Called "stable angina," this is most commonly chest pain with activity. It goes away with rest. It's not a heart attack, but it suggests you are at risk for one and should be treated aggressively with medications.
A plaque can rupture. That causes blood to clot quickly inside the coronary artery. A plaque rupture is as serious as it sounds. The result is a blood clot that makes your chest hurt.
Two things can happen then:
Unstable angina: The clot doesn't totally block the blood vessel. It then dissolves without causing a heart attack.
Heart attack (myocardial infarction): The coronary artery is blocked by the clot long enough to cause irreversible damage. The heart muscle, starved for nutrients and oxygen, dies.
Blood clots can form in any of the arteries of the heart, even those with only minor blockages.
No one can predict who will have a heart attack. But coronary artery disease isn't random. Most people with coronary artery disease have one or more controllable risk factors.
Most people who have a heart attack will have at least one or more of the following risk factors that contribute to atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease:
Most of us have plenty of room for improvement.
The best way to determine your risk level is to see your doctor. But you can start to reduce your risk today. Eat right, don't smoke, and exercise. Remember to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise plan.
Some people may also need to take medicine to keep their cholesterol and blood pressure in a healthy range.
Tips To Prevent Heart Attack
Tips to prevent Heart attack - Health VideoMedindia"> " />
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Developed by Medindia Content TeamHealth Videos Reviewed by The Medindia Medical Review Team on May 31, 2024Heart Attack occurs when the flow of oxygenated blood to heart muscles is hindered or stopped due to built-up of plaques in coronary arteries. Plaques are waxy substances that built-up over a period of time by the deposit of fat and cholesterol in the blood vessels. This would cause the blood vessel to gradually narrow down in its diameter causing reduced flow of blood to the heart. This is called atherosclerosis. When the flow of blood stops or gets hindered severely, then it is called as Myocardial Infarction or Heart Attack. Given below are tips to prevent a Heart attack.
Disclaimer All information and content on this site are for information and educational purposes only. The information should not be used for either diagnosis or treatment or both for any health related problem or disease. Always seek the advice of a qualified physician for medical diagnosis and treatment.
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Highest Risk For Myocardial Infarction In GCA Found During The 30 Days After Diagnosis
Among patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA), myocardial infarction most frequently occurs during the 30 days following diagnosis, according to study findings published in Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases Open.
The most common vasculitis among older persons is GCA, generally affecting women more often than men. In Sweden, the leading cause of mortality is cardiovascular disease (CVD). As GCA presents significant risk factors for CVD, investigators in Sweden aimed to determine the incident rate (IR) of myocardial infarction among patients with biopsy-confirmed GCA vs the general population and assessed the impact of incident myocardial infarction on mortality.
The investigators conducted a population-based analysis, including patients from the Department of Pathology in Skåne, Sweden, who were diagnosed with temporal artery biopsy-confirmed GCA from 1998 to 2016. Data on CVD and myocardial infarction incidence were taken from the SWEDEHEART register. Patients with GCA receiving care for myocardial infarction outside of a coronary care unit were identified using a regional diagnosis database with subsequent case review. Patients with GCA were matched 1:10 with members of a reference population based on sex, age, and area of residence.
A total of 1134 patients (72% women) with biopsy-confirmed GCA were included in the analysis, accounting for 7958 person-years of follow-up. Of these, 102 experienced an incident myocardial infarction. The overall IR for myocardial infarction was 12.8/1000 person-years (95% CI, 10.3-15.3), with the highest rates found during the 30 days following a GCA diagnosis (IR, 54.1/1000 person-years; 95% CI, 6.7-101.5).
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Persons diagnosed with GCA and incident [myocardial infarction] show a risk of death 2.8 times that of those with GCA and no [myocardial infarction].
The overall IR for myocardial infarction was higher among men vs women with biopsy-confirmed GCA (IR, 16.8 vs 11.5/1000 person-years, respectively), except in the 30 days following diagnosis (IR, 38.2 vs 60.4/1000 person-years, respectively).
A total of 1013 patients with GCA and 10,127 members of the reference population were included in the comparative analysis. Compared with the reference population, the incidence rate ratio for myocardial infarction among patients with GCA was 1.29 (95% CI, 1.05-1.59). Incident myocardial infarction among patients with GCA was associated with an increased risk for mortality, compared with the reference population (hazard ratio [HR], 2.81; 95% CI, 2.17-3.63). Risks were higher among men (HR, 4.29; 95% CI, 2.70-6.81) vs women (HR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.7-3.17).
Study limitations include reduced generalizability among patients with biopsy-negative GCA, the inadvertent exclusion of patients with myocardial infarction who died before reaching a healthcare facility, and missing data on significant CVD risk factors.
"Persons diagnosed with GCA and incident [myocardial infarction] show a risk of death 2.8 times that of those with GCA and no [myocardial infarction]. Further studies should investigate the impact of inflammation, GC treatment, antiplatelet therapy, treatment with targeted biological drugs and traditional risk factors on the risk of [myocardial infarction] in individuals with biopsy-confirmed GCA," the investigators concluded.
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