Coronary artery disease
Coronary artery disease is a medical condition that occurs as a result of the heart not receiving a sufficient amount of oxygen-rich blood, as a result of the accumulation of cholesterol and harmful fats within the coronary arteries that feed the heart and branch off from the main aorta. Accordingly, the patient may suffer from a sudden heart attack or a narrowing of the heart. Breathing and coronary artery disease are common diseases and are often called coronary heart disease.
Causes of coronary heart disease
Coronary artery disease, known as atherosclerosis, occurs due to the deposition of cholesterol and harmful fats on the inner walls of blood vessels, which leads to narrowing or blockage of the arteries that supply the heart with blood and nutrients, causing heart failure. However, there are some other factors that also exacerbate the severity of atherosclerosis. Coronary arteries and heart diseases such as:
- Smoking: Nicotine increases harmful deposits on the walls of internal blood vessels, thus narrowing the arteries.
- Diabetes and high blood pressure.
- Increasing age: The severity of the disease and the risk of damage to the coronary arteries increases over time.
- Genetic factors: These are factors that cause the disease, especially with a family history of premature coronary artery disease.
- Overweight and obesity: increases the chance of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis.
- Following an unhealthy diet that contains high levels of saturated fats (LDL) and cholesterol.
- Laziness and sleeping for long periods: affects blood circulation and causes heart disease.
- Women after menopause, because high levels of estrogen protect them from atherosclerosis, but during menopause they become vulnerable to coronary heart disease.
- Increased levels of C-reactive protein in the blood.
How do you know you have coronary artery disease?
Coronary artery disease usually does not have symptoms suddenly, but rather develops gradually. At its beginning, the disease has no symptoms, but with the development and increase of fatty deposits in the coronary arteries, this prevents blood flow and the access of oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle, affecting its efficiency and performance of its function. Then the patient begins to feel symptoms of narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, which are as follows:
- The patient feels shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
- The patient may be at risk of developing angina, which is severe pain in the middle of the chest or in the left part, lasts for several minutes, and may be very severe and includes parts of the neck, arms, and back.
- The patient may feel the pain of a heart attack, and this attack may be severe and painful. It occurs in the case of complete blockage of the coronary artery, and causes severe pain in the chest, neck, and arm area, coinciding with shortness of breath and sweating.
- Feeling exhausted because the heart is unable to perform its function and pump blood to the rest of the body’s organs adequately.
How to prevent coronary artery disease
Can be prevented diseases Coronary artery disease by avoiding all factors that stimulate atherosclerosis, and following a healthy lifestyle such as:
- Exercise and maintain a healthy weight.
- Treatment of high blood pressure.
- Controlling the body’s natural sugar level.
- Avoid smoking and alcohol.
- Stay away from stress and emotion.
- Follow a diet rich in vitamins, antioxidants, HDL, and omega-3, and reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, and saturated fats.
How to diagnose diseases Coronary artery
Coronary artery disease is diagnosed by the doctor through:
- Clinical examination of the condition.
- Diagnostic cardiac catheterization and Cardiac CT scan.
- Electrocardiogram.
- Cardiac MRI.
- Eco check.
- Analysis of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, in addition to the level of heart enzymes, because their increase in conjunction with chest pain indicates the occurrence of a heart clot.
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Can coronary artery disease be cured?
There are multiple treatment options for coronary artery insufficiency, but this depends on the stage of the disease, the age of the condition, and many other factors, and the doctor can develop the appropriate treatment plan for the patient.
Professor Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Ghannam, a consultant in open-heart and minimally invasive surgery, confirms that regardless of the treatment option determined by the doctor, whether it is drug therapy, therapeutic cardiac catheterization, limited intervention, or traditional surgery, this does not negate the importance of changing the patient’s lifestyle, and the necessity of Follow a healthy lifestyle based on preventing smoking, losing weight, reducing cholesterol and harmful fats in food, and exercising regularly.
If the blockage in the arteries that feed the heart is mild or moderate, Dr. Muhammad Al-Ghannam begins with the patient with the non-surgical option in order to get rid of the deposits inside the coronary arteries, in addition to helping the coronary arteries that feed the heart to expand, through:
- Drug treatment with anti-clotting drugs such as aspirin and clopidogrel.
- Using beta agonists to help lower high blood pressure and regulate the heartbeat.
- Calcium channel blockers help expand the walls of the arteries and relax the blood vessels.
- Statins are drugs that reduce levels of harmful cholesterol in the blood.
- Dilation of the coronary arteries by catheterization: It is a type of limited intervention and non-surgical treatment, using a catheter tube, where a thin, flexible tube is inserted through the artery, and it is equipped with a balloon at its end in order to expand the narrowed artery or insert a stent to treat clogged arteries and preserve the artery. Open coronary artery bypass grafting is one of the most effective methods for treating coronary artery disease.
And At the conclusion of this article, it can be said that coronary artery diseases can be treated by consulting Dr. Muhammad Al-Ghannam, one of the best open-heart surgery and minimally invasive surgery consultants.
