Coronary Heart Disease. Essays - Vascular Diseases,

Coronary Heart disease. Any heart disorder due to a restricted supply of blood to the heart muscle is called coronary heart disease. The most common symptom of heart disease is angina pain, which is when you get gripping pains in your left arms and around the chest area. A heart attack usually occurs quite suddenly, with either little or no warning. Chest pain may be a bit like that of angina but it is usually more severe and not necessarily brought on by exertion or relieved by rest. The patient or victim may also start to sweat, feel weak and even lose consciousness. If the attack completely stops the heart, this is known as cardiac arrest and death may follow. The severity of the heart attack depends on the amount of muscle affected and the health of the other coronary arteries. Coronary heart disease is commonly caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries by Atherosclerosis, a build-up of fatty deposits in the lining of the arteries. The process that leads to Atherosclerosis begins with the accumulation of excess fats and cholesterol in the blood. These substances fill the lining of arteries at sites of microscopic damage, forming deposits called atheroma. When the atheroma builds up, it narrows the arteries and eventually no blood will be able to flow through. To clear the arteries you can have two things done: theses are: Balloon Angioplasty which is where an incision is made in the patients arm or leg, through this a guide wire is pushed into the brachial [or femoral] artery. Using an X-ray or ultrasound guidance, the wire is then threaded into the affected coronary artery [via the aorta] to the blockage. At the blockage the wire is carefully moved in to place between the swollen walls and the small balloon which is attached to the guide wire is very sl owly filled with liquid this pushes against the pall and clears the passage. : Another way to clear the blocked artery is called Laser catheters. It is similar Balloon Angioplasty. It uses a laser for the unblocking. The mechanism is inserted into the artery to the problem area, a balloon like device expands stopping the flow of blood, then a tiny laser gets rid of the blockage.