What is coronary heart disease? — Coronary heart disease is a condition that puts you at risk for heart attack and other forms of heart disease. In people who have coronary heart disease, the arteries that supply blood to the heart get clogged with fatty deposits (figure 1). Other names for this disease are “coronary artery disease” or just “heart disease.”
What are the symptoms of coronary heart disease? — Many people with coronary heart disease have no symptoms. For those who do, the most common symptoms usually happen with exercise. They can include:
What are the symptoms of a heart attack? — The first symptom of coronary heart disease can be a heart attack (figure 2). That’s why it is so important to know how to spot a heart attack.
The symptoms of a heart attack can include:
If these symptoms last more than 10 minutes or they keep coming and going, call for an ambulance right away. Do not try to get to the hospital on your own.
As mentioned above, some people with coronary heart disease have chest pain even when they are not having a heart attack. This is most likely to happen when they are walking, going up stairs, or moving around. But if you have chest pain that is new or different than pain you have had before, you should see a doctor right away.
Is there a test for coronary heart disease? — Yes. If your doctor or nurse thinks you might have coronary heart disease, he or she might order blood tests and one or more of these tests:
How is coronary heart disease treated? — The main treatments for coronary heart disease are:
People who have chest pain caused by coronary heart disease (called “angina”) can also get medicines to relive their pain. These medicines might include “nitrates,” “beta blockers,” and others.
Some people with coronary heart disease can also have:
If your doctor recommends stenting or bypass surgery, ask these questions:
Figure 1. In people with coronary heart disease, the coronary arteries get clogged with fatty deposits called plaques.
Figure 2. This picture shows the main symptoms of a heart attack. People who are having a heart attack often have only some of these symptoms. The pain, pressure, and discomfort caused by a heart attack mostly affect the left side of the body (shown in darker red) but can also affect the right. If you think you are having a heart attack, call for an ambulance. Do not try to get yourself to the hospital.
Figure 3. During coronary artery bypass surgery, the surgeon removes a piece of blood vessel from the leg, chest, arm, or belly. Then the surgeon uses that piece of blood vessel (called a “graft”) to reroute blood around the blocked artery. The surgery is called “bypass surgery” because it bypasses the blockage. Some people have more than 1 blocked artery bypassed. In this picture, the graft came from a vein in the leg called the “saphenous vein.” But grafts can come from other places, too.
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