Coronary artery disease (CAD) is mostly the result of circumstances which hinder the adequate supply of nutrients and oxygen to the heart by disrupting the blood flow. There’s a network of arteries surrounding your heart. Over the years, because of factors including diseases, plaque build-up, or damage, these arteries get narrowed, making it difficult for blood to pass through in the required amount, thus leading to a lack of blood in the heart, followed by chest pains, shortness of breath, and other similar symptoms.
It can be challenging to diagnose Coronary Artery Disease because it develops over many years and begins depicting symptoms very slowly. In fact, in many cases, the patients come to know of their CAD diagnosis only after they’ve had a heart attack.
The most prominent cause of coronary artery disease is Atherosclerosis, say cardiology doctors in Abu Dhabi.
Your arteries are lined with the endothelium, a thin layer of cells that keep the blood flowing by keeping the artery walls smooth. When the endothelium is damaged, cholesterol can get stuck in the artery walls. Over a period of time, fats, inflammatory cells, calcium, macrophages, and other substances present in the blood will join the cholesterol. The resulting plaque can get hardened with time, and clog the arteries, thus disrupting the flow of blood to your heart.
Many factors can increase the speed at which Atherosclerosis develops. These include smoking, obesity, and hypertension, high levels of blood sugar, cholesterol, and diabetes. However, these are not the only reasons that can affect the blood supply to your heart. Others include an embolism, aneurysm, artery inflammation, a tear in the inner coronary artery wall, blood clots, etc.
If you are more than 65 years of age, overweight, and either smoke, use alcohol excessively or are under constant stress, you may want to visit a cardiologist to rule out any possibilities.
Specialist Cardiologist
Aster Speciality Clinic, International City
