Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), also known as coronary artery disease (CAD), is a condition in which the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart muscle — called coronary arteries — become narrowed or blocked due to plaque buildup (atherosclerosis). This reduces blood flow to the heart and can lead to chest pain (angina), heart attacks, and other serious complications.
Causes:
- Atherosclerosis (fatty deposits in the arteries)
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol levels
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Lack of physical activity
- Unhealthy diet
- Family history of heart disease
Symptoms:
- Chest pain or discomfort (especially during physical activity or stress)
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Pain in the arms, neck, jaw, or back
- Sometimes no symptoms until a heart attack occurs (silent CHD)
Complications:
- Heart attack (myocardial infarction)
- Heart failure
- Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)
- Sudden cardiac arrest
Diagnosis:
- Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)
- Stress tests
- Echocardiogram
- Coronary angiography
- Blood tests
Treatment Options:
- Lifestyle changes:
- Healthy diet (low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium)
- Regular exercise
- Quitting smoking
- Managing stress
- Medications:
- Cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins)
- Blood pressure medications
- Aspirin or other blood thinners
- Beta-blockers
- Medical procedures:
- Angioplasty and stent placement
- Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG)
Prevention:
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle
- Monitor blood pressure and cholesterol
- Get regular checkups
- Stay active and eat heart-healthy foods
Overview
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major cause of death both in the UK and worldwide. CHD is sometimes called ischaemic heart disease.
Symptoms of CHD
The main symptoms of CHD are:
- angina (chest pain)
- heart attacks
- heart failure
However, not everyone has the same symptoms and some people may not have any before CHD is diagnosed.
Read about symptoms of coronary heart disease.
Causes of coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease is the term that describes what happens when your heart’s blood supply is blocked or interrupted by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries.
Over time, the walls of your arteries can become furred up with fatty deposits. This process is known as atherosclerosis and the fatty deposits are called atheroma.
Atherosclerosis can be caused by lifestyle factors and other conditions, such as:
- smoking
- high cholesterol
- high blood pressure (hypertension)
- diabetes
Read about the causes of coronary heart disease.
Diagnosing coronary heart disease
If your doctor feels you’re at risk of CHD, they may carry out a risk assessment. This involves asking about your medical and family history, your lifestyle and taking a blood test.
Further tests may be needed to confirm a diagnosis of CHD, including:
- a treadmill test
- a radionuclide scan
- a CT scan
- an MRI scan
- a coronary angiography
Read about diagnosing coronary heart disease.
Treating coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease can’t be cured but treatment can help manage the symptoms and reduce the chances of problems such as heart attacks.
Treatment can include:
- lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise and stopping smoking
- medication
- angioplasty – using balloons and stents to treat narrow heart arteries
- surgery
Read about treating coronary heart disease.
Recovering from the effects of CHD
If you have a heart attack or have had angioplasty or heart surgery, it’s possible to eventually resume a normal life.
Advice and support is available to help you deal with aspects of your life that may have been affected by CHD.
Read about recovering from the effects of coronary heart disease.
Preventing CHD
You can reduce your risk of getting CHD by making some simple lifestyle changes. These include:
- eating a healthy, balanced diet
- being physically active
- giving up smoking
- controlling blood cholesterol and sugar levels
Keeping your heart healthy will also have other health benefits, such as helping reduce your risk of stroke and dementia.
Read about preventing coronary heart disease.
The heart
The heart is a muscle about the size of your fist. It pumps blood around your body and beats approximately 70 times a minute. After the blood leaves the right side of the heart, it goes to your lungs where it picks up oxygen.
The oxygen-rich blood returns to your heart and is then pumped to the body’s organs through a network of arteries. The blood returns to your heart through veins before being pumped back to your lungs again. This process is called circulation.
The heart gets its own supply of blood from a network of blood vessels on the heart’s surface called coronary arteries.