Coronary disease

Heart Disease CAD Go inside the body to see how heart disease develops.

Progressive reduction of blood supply to the heart muscle due to narrowing or blocking of a coronary artery (see atherosclerosis). Short-term oxygen deprivation can cause angina pectoris. Long-term, severe oxygen depletion causes a heart attack. Coronary bypass or angioplasty is needed if medication and diet do not control the disease.

For more information on coronary heart disease, visit Britannica.com.

Malfunction of the heart caused by blockage of one of the arteries supplying the heart muscle. Coronary heart disease has been linked to unhealthy eating and lack of exercise. In the USA more than 500 000 people die from coronary heart disease each year. In Britain, it is responsible for one in four of all deaths. More than 800 people a day suffer heart attacks and it costs the National Health Service more than 700 million pounds a year to treat them.

The disease is not confined to the elderly. Children as young as seven years old can have abnormal electrocardiograms indicating the beginnings of heart disease. These abnormalities are thought to be linked to the children's lack of exercise: in the UK, about a third of 10-year-olds walk continuously for less than 10 minutes a week. Most are transported to school by car and spend a lot of their leisure time in front of a television or computer screen.

A new test has been devised to screen children's susceptibility to the disease. It involves tying a tight band round a child's arm or leg. When the band is removed, there is a sudden increase in pressure, causing the artery to expand. The degree of expansion is measured using ultrasound. Slow or restricted expansion is believed to be an early warning sign of artery disease that may develop into a fatal condition in later life.

The risk of succumbing to a coronary heart disease at any age is reduced by regular aerobic exercise and a healthy diet. Physically active people have a lower incidence of the disease. Health experts in the USA estimate that 30 000 deaths would not occur each year if more people engaged in regular exercise. As little as 5-10 miles (8-16 km) walking or jogging each week can offer some protection against heart disease.

A disease of the heart that involves narrowing of the coronary arteries. This may cause a blockage of an artery and a heart attack. Coronary heart disease is one of the major causes of serious illness and death in Western countries.

Coronary disease
Classification and external resources
MeSH	D003327

Coronary disease (or coronary heart disease) refers to the failure of coronary circulation to supply adequate circulation to cardiac muscle and surrounding tissue. It is already the most common form of disease affecting the heart and an important cause of premature death in Europe, the Baltic states, Russia, North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. It has been predicted that all regions of the world will be affected by 2020.^[1]

It is most commonly equated with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, but coronary disease can be due to other causes, such as coronary vasospasm.^[2] It is possible for the stenosis to be caused by the spasm.^[3]

References

1. ^ Boon NA, Colledge NR, Walker BR and Hunter JAA (2006). Davidson's Principles & Practice of Medicine, 20th Edition. Churchill Livingstone
2. ^ Williams MJ, Restieaux NJ, Low CJ (February 1998). "Myocardial infarction in young people with normal coronary arteries". Heart 79 (2): 191–4. PMID 9538315. http://heart.bmj.com/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=9538315. 
3. ^ Rezkalla SH, Kloner RA (October 2007). "Cocaine-induced acute myocardial infarction". Clin Med Res 5 (3): 172–6. doi:10.3121/cmr.2007.759. PMID 18056026. http://www.clinmedres.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=18056026. 

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v • d • e Cardiovascular disease: heart disease · Circulatory system pathology (I00-I52, 390-429) Ischaemic CD/CHD CAD · Coronary thrombosis · Coronary vasospasm · Coronary artery aneurysm · Coronary artery dissection · Myocardial Bridge Active ischemia Angina pectoris (Prinzmetal's angina, Stable angina) · Acute coronary (Unstable angina, Myocardial infarction / heart attack) Sequelae hours (Myocardial stunning, Hibernating myocardium) · days (Myocardial rupture) · weeks (Aneurysm of heart/Ventricular aneurysm, Dressler's syndrome) Layers Pericardium Pericarditis (Acute, Chronic/Constrictive) · Pericardial effusion (Hemopericardium, Cardiac tamponade) Myocardium Myocarditis (Chagas disease) Cardiomyopathy: Dilated (Alcoholic) · Hypertrophic · Restrictive (Loeffler endocarditis, Cardiac amyloidosis, Endocardial fibroelastosis) Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia Endocardium/ valves Endocarditis Infective endocarditis (Subacute bacterial endocarditis) · noninfective endocarditis (Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis, Libman-Sacks endocarditis) Valves mitral (regurgitation, prolapse, stenosis) · aortic (stenosis, insufficiency) · tricuspid (stenosis, insufficiency) · pulmonary (stenosis, insufficiency) Conduction/ arrhythmia Bradycardia Sinus bradycardia · Sick sinus syndrome Heart block: Sinoatrial · AV (1°, 2°, 3°) · Intraventricular (Bundle branch/Right/Left, Left anterior fascicular/Left posterior fascicular, Bifascicular/Trifascicular) · Adams-Stokes syndrome Tachycardia (paroxysmal and sinus) Supraventricular Atrial (Multifocal) · Junctional (AV nodal reentrant, Junctional ectopic) Ventricular Torsades de pointes · Catecholaminergic polymorphic · Accelerated idioventricular rhythm Premature contraction Atrial · Ventricular Pre-excitation syndrome Wolff-Parkinson-White · Lown-Ganong-Levine Flutter/fibrillation Atrial flutter · Ventricular flutter · Atrial fibrillation (Familial) · Ventricular fibrillation Pacemaker Wandering pacemaker · Ectopic pacemaker/Ectopic beat · Parasystole · Multifocal atrial tachycardia · Pacemaker syndrome Long QT syndrome Romano-Ward syndrome · Andersen-Tawil syndrome · Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome Cardiac arrest Sudden cardiac death · Asystole · Pulseless electrical activity · Sinoatrial arrest Other/ungrouped hexaxial reference system (Right axis deviation, Left axis deviation) · QT (Short QT syndrome) · T (T wave alternans) · ST (Osborn wave, ST elevation, ST depression) Cardiomegaly Ventricular hypertrophy (Left, Right/Cor pulmonale) · Atrial enlargement (Left, Right) Other Cardiac fibrosis · Heart failure (Cardiac asthma) · Rheumatic fever heart navs: anat/physio/dev, noncongen/congen/neoplasia, symptoms+signs/eponymous, proc

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