Coronary heart disease is the narrowing of the coronary arteries wherein the cholesterol accumulates on the artery walls which creates plaques later on. Due to the reduced blood flow to the heart or sometimes, clotting, it obstructs the blood flow to the heart muscle resulting to this disease.
This type of disease is the most common type of heart disease wherein there are 370,000 accounted for deaths every year. This article will help give you information on all the things you need to know about coronary heart disease—on its causes, symptoms, and medications needed to help treat the illness. Read more to know how this disease transpires.
Facts on Coronary Heart Disease (CHD):
Did you know that the earliest traces of the coronary heart disease were around the era of Egyptian pharaohs? Yes, CHD has been around that time which still haunts people up to today’s date, and the number of people suffering this disease has increased making it the number 1 cause of death globally.
In fact, there is an estimated number of 17.9 million deaths from 2016 representing 31 percent of all global deaths. And in the U.S, coronary heart disease has accounted for 23.5 percent of all deaths, which is about 610,000 people die of heart disease every year— that is 1 in every 4 deaths. This disease does sound scary don’t you think? Better prepare yourself by being knowledgeable about this illness.
Causes of Coronary Heart Disease
So, what causes a person to have coronary heart disease? First off, CHD is usually caused due to a build-up of fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries around the walls of the heart of a person suffering this disease. Due to this build-up, the blood flow is restricted making it hard for the heart to function normally.
Of course, your lifestyle has something to do with it such as being obese or overweight, smoking, and lack of physical activity. This is actually a series of consequences, take the lack of physical activity or exercise as an example, due to lack of exercise and unbalanced diet, you may be overweight which then would lead to either diabetes or high blood cholesterol level.
Another unhealthy lifestyle is smoking, this is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease since both nicotine and carbon monoxide puts a strain on the heart by making it work faster than normal, increasing your risk of blood clots. The other chemicals that can be found in cigarettes also contribute by damaging the lining of your coronary arteries. Medical practitioners say that your risk of developing heart disease increases by 24 percent when you smoke.
Symptoms of Coronary Heart Disease
The most common symptom of the coronary heart disease is angina or chest pain in layman’s term. However, there are also other symptoms that one could experience such as unusual breathlessness and heart palpitation. There are also some instances that a patient won’t be able to experience any symptoms before they are diagnosed.
So as to help you determine the symptoms, here are the common symptoms of coronary heart disease:
Angina
As what was said beforehand, angina or chest pain is the most common symptom one could have. This pain often spreads to the jaw, neck, arms, shoulders, throat, back, or even the teeth. Other related symptoms are indigestion, heartburn, sweating, nausea, cramping, weakness, and shortness of breath.
Heart Attack
Myocardial infarction or heart attack happens when the heart muscle doesn’t have enough blood and oxygen. This occurrence happens when a blood clot develops due to the plaque in the coronary artery. The symptoms of heart attack include chest discomfort, dizziness, coughing, shortness of breath, perspiration and clammy skin.
Medications
Here are some of the medications to help a patient suffering from coronary heart disease:
- Cholesterol-modifying medications. Since one of the factors is due to cholesterol, this drug decreases the amount of cholesterol in the blood.
- Aspirin. Your doctor may have suggested for you to take aspirin daily or other blood thinners since this drug reduces the tendency to clot your blood which helps to prevent the obstruction of your coronary arteries.
- Nitroglycerin. This drug is also part of the first aid if a person is having a heart attack other than aspirin. Nitroglycerin controls chest pain by temporarily dilating the coronary arteries, which reduces the heart’s demand for blood. This comes in tablets, sprays, and patches.
Takeaway
Having this type of disease is a burden on the body and finances, which is why the best prevention for this illness is to have a healthy and active lifestyle. And if you are already suffering from this disease, don’t lose hope since there are ways to help manage the symptoms and lessen the risks. Furthermore, to help you financially, circulatory drug coupons are available to be of aid for your medication needs.