What is coronary heart disease?

The heart is a muscle and, like any other muscle, it needs a good supply of oxygen if it is to function well. Your heart gets the oxygen it needs from the blood supplied through your coronary arteries. Coronary heart disease – the most common type of heart disease – is caused if these arteries become narrowed so that the blood supply is restricted and the heart is no longer able to get all the oxygen it requires.

Narrowing of the arteries is caused by a process known as atherosclerosis. This is the gradual build up of a fatty deposit on the artery wall and may start at a very early age.

The fatty deposit is known as the atheroma and is made up of cholesterol, fat and calcium. As it thickens the arteries become very narrow. The blood supply to the heart becomes restricted or even blocked, resulting in angina or a heart attack.

When the blood supply to your heart is restricted and your heart is not getting enough oxygen you will feel a cramp-like pain. This is angina. It normally occurs during exercise or at times of emotional stress, when your heart has to work harder and therefore requires more oxygen than at other times.

Usually, angina can be successfully controlled by drugs. However, in some cases, further invervention may be needed to improve the blood flow to the heart muscle.

A heart attack occurs when there is a sudden and severe blockage in one of the coronary arteries and the blood supply to part of your heart is cut off. Blockages are caused by the formation of blood clots, usually in arteries which are already narrowed. Part of the heart muscle is starved of blood and will be damaged. This causes severe pain.

If the damage is particularly severe the heart can stop beating altogether. This is known as a cardiac arrest and will be fatal unless the heart starts beating again within a few minutes.

Thankfully with modern skills and technology we are now able to re-open or enlarge narrowed arteries,or if necessary bypass them altogether, and so significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks.

Most importantly however, there are a number of steps you can take to halt or even reverse atherosclerosis and improve health of your heart.

What puts your heart at risk?

Although we do not yet know precisely what causes a person to develop heart disease, researches have identified a number of factors which put your heart at risk. These are:

Smoking

High blood cholesterol

Family history of heart disease

High blood pressure

Gender

Increasing age

Diabetes

Obesity

Excess alcohol

Lack of exercise

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