Description of coronary disease

Question

Give a brief description of the term coronary disease?

Answer 1

Coronary disease (or coronary insufficiency) is a disease in that there is whole or partial obstruction of one or more of arteries which irrigate the heart musculature, that is, obstruction of coronary arteries. The disease is created by slow and gradual formation of the atheroma plaques in the coronaries. The fatty plaques block and grow the flow of blood, a process named as atherosclerosis (don’t confuse with arteriosclerosis that is the hardening of arteries generally cause by chronic high blood pressure).

The main risk factors for the coronary disease are tobacco, diabetes mellitus, smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia (or high level of bad cholesterol and low level of the good cholesterol), stress, sedentary lifestyle and alcoholism.

Coronary disease might present in two ways, as myocardial infarction or as angina pectoris. If the arterial obstruction is not extensive and complete the patient often feels chest ache (angina pectoris), mostly when performing physical exercise or in any condition when the heart requires more oxygen. If obstruction of one or more coronaries is complete or blood can’t irrigate some regions of heart muscle (myocardium) the infarction takes place and the muscle cells of the influenced area die.