What is Coronary Heart Disease?
Often enough, it is the death of a friend or relative from a heart attack which makes one consult one's doctor for a "check up.
" An increasing number of people are now beginning to seek information from magazines, television and even from their own doctors about the preventive aspects of heart disease.
We have seen heart attacks taking away relatively young people in the prime of their lives in this country and the same is true of all the countries of the Indian subcontinent.
What is meant by the term 'Coronary Heart Disease'? Basically, the coronary arteries are those blood vessels that supply the muscles of the heart itself.
A blockage (or thrombus) in these vital vessels results in stoppage of blood flow to a section of the heart, with consequent death (or infarction) of that portion of the heart muscle.
Such an infarction is known as a heart attack.
Narrowing of the coronary arteries occurs naturally and gradually with advancing age.
But such narrowing can take place in early life due to a number of diseases.
The narrower one's arteries are, the more likely such arteries are to become blocked.
Even a limited check-up by a physician helps to establish whether a person has an inherited tendency to develop heart disease (referred to as having a family history), whether other diseases such as diabetes which make him more susceptible to narrowing of the coronary vessels are present, and whether he has any bad habits which might make him more prone to heart disease.
Certain tests, such as an Exercise Stress Test (which involves taking an ECG while the patient is exercising on a moving treadmill) help to demonstrate the state of the coronary arteries, and whether Ischaemia (a condition where insufficient blood is supplied to the heart) is present.
There are many Risk Factors, each of which is known to increase the risk of a person developing coronary heart disease; the more Risk Factors a person has, the more likely he or she is to get a heart attack prematurely.
The risk factors thus far identified are.
* A history of coronary disease in one's immediate family.
* Cigarette smoking * High blood pressure * High blood cholesterol .
* Being overweight * Eating foods rich in saturated fats.
* Stress and anxiety * Lazy, sedentary lifestyle.
Taking the time to consult one's physician and allow an individual assessment to be made can therefore identify Risk Factors, and so permit one to take suitable corrective measures.
" An increasing number of people are now beginning to seek information from magazines, television and even from their own doctors about the preventive aspects of heart disease.
We have seen heart attacks taking away relatively young people in the prime of their lives in this country and the same is true of all the countries of the Indian subcontinent.
What is meant by the term 'Coronary Heart Disease'? Basically, the coronary arteries are those blood vessels that supply the muscles of the heart itself.
A blockage (or thrombus) in these vital vessels results in stoppage of blood flow to a section of the heart, with consequent death (or infarction) of that portion of the heart muscle.
Such an infarction is known as a heart attack.
Narrowing of the coronary arteries occurs naturally and gradually with advancing age.
But such narrowing can take place in early life due to a number of diseases.
The narrower one's arteries are, the more likely such arteries are to become blocked.
Even a limited check-up by a physician helps to establish whether a person has an inherited tendency to develop heart disease (referred to as having a family history), whether other diseases such as diabetes which make him more susceptible to narrowing of the coronary vessels are present, and whether he has any bad habits which might make him more prone to heart disease.
Certain tests, such as an Exercise Stress Test (which involves taking an ECG while the patient is exercising on a moving treadmill) help to demonstrate the state of the coronary arteries, and whether Ischaemia (a condition where insufficient blood is supplied to the heart) is present.
There are many Risk Factors, each of which is known to increase the risk of a person developing coronary heart disease; the more Risk Factors a person has, the more likely he or she is to get a heart attack prematurely.
The risk factors thus far identified are.
* A history of coronary disease in one's immediate family.
* Cigarette smoking * High blood pressure * High blood cholesterol .
* Being overweight * Eating foods rich in saturated fats.
* Stress and anxiety * Lazy, sedentary lifestyle.
Taking the time to consult one's physician and allow an individual assessment to be made can therefore identify Risk Factors, and so permit one to take suitable corrective measures.
