Coronary heart disease, also called coronary artery disease, is a health condition in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up on the inner walls of the coronary arteries.
These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. The plaque can narrow the arteries and reduces blood flow to your heart muscle.
Reduced blood flow causes chest pain, especially when you’re active.
If the plaque keeps building, the area of plaque can rupture (break open). This will cause a blood clot to form.
When the clot is big enough, it can block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle fed by the artery. This can cause a heart attack.
Many risk factors can lead to coronary heart disease.
These factors include chronic health conditions, such as high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels (a type of fat found in the blood), high blood pressure, diabetes and prediabetes, and overweight or obesity.
Some risk factors are unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as smoking, lack of physical activity, unhealthy diet, and too much stress.
In addition, there are some risk factors you cannot control. These include age, gender and family history of coronary heart disease.
Some people only have one risk factor, while others have two or more risk factors.
Research finds that one’s risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack increases when the number of risk factors and severity increase.
Experts also found that some risk factors are more dangerous than others. For example, smoking and diabetes are more harmful.
To reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, one should start from childhood. Currently, many children are overweight and don’t have enough physical activity.
This may increase their risk of coronary heart disease in their adulthood.
The best way to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease is by keeping a healthy lifestyle from the beginning.
This includes eating heart-healthy foods, exercising regularly, sleeping well at night, and keeping a healthy weight.
You also need to stop smoking and drink less alcohol.
Because many lifestyle habits begin during childhood, parents and families should encourage their children to make heart-healthy choices.
These healthy lifestyle habits can help you even you already have coronary heart disease. They can help lower your risk of dying from the disease.
To treat coronary heart disease, you may also need other medical treatments besides a healthy lifestyle.
It is important to discuss with your doctor.
Your doctor can help you find out whether you have risk factors of coronary heart disease.
He or she also can help you create a plan for lowering your risk of the disease, heart attack, and other heart problems.
If you have children, talk with their doctors about their heart health and whether they have the risk of coronary heart disease.
If they do, ask your doctor to help create a treatment plan to reduce or control these risk factors.
Copyright © 2018 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
