Coronary Artery Disease

What is coronary artery disease?

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a common heart condition and a leading cause of heart attacks. It develops over time as plaque slowly builds up in your heart arteries.

Plaque is a substance formed from a mixture of cholesterol (a kind of fat) and minerals like calcium in your blood. The sticky mixture coats the inside of your artery walls, narrowing the space for blood to flow (atherosclerosis).

Plaque can also harden, making the arteries stiff, and trigger inflammation. A piece of plaque breaking off or a blood clot in the narrowed blood vessel can block blood flow altogether, triggering a heart attack.

Atherosclerosis is also responsible for carotid artery disease in the arteries serving your brain (potentially leading to a stroke) and peripheral artery disease (PAD), which affects the circulation in your legs.

What causes coronary artery disease?

CAD’s primary cause is high cholesterol. People whose diets contain a lot of cholesterol, which is found mainly in red meat and animal fats like butter, have an increased risk of developing CAD. Other risk factors include:

• High blood pressure
• Smoking 
• Lack of exercise
• Family history of heart disease
• Age (over 45 for men, over 55 for women)
• Excess body weight
• Diabetes

You can reduce your likelihood of developing coronary artery disease by eating a heart-healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight. Cut out smoking and get the right treatment for conditions like high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

How is coronary artery disease treated?

Making changes to your diet and better choices for your health is vital at every stage of CAD treatment. The Capitol Cardiology Associates team can give you the advice and support you need.

You might benefit from medications to lower your cholesterol and blood pressure and stop your blood from forming clots.  

Capitol Cardiology Associates also specializes in minimally invasive procedures that address the cause of your coronary artery disease. Providers use cardiac catheterization techniques, inserting a tiny flexible pipe (catheter) into an artery and along to the narrowed section.

When the catheter is in position, your provider may inflate a balloon that flattens plaque against the artery’s walls (balloon angioplasty). Or they may use a special tool to scrape the plaque off (atherectomy). Your provider might also insert a stent, a mesh tube that holds the artery open.

For a comprehensive heart health review and expert treatment of coronary artery disease, call Capitol Cardiology Associates today or book an appointment online.