Diseases of the heart and the associated vascular system have now become a huge problem of modern human civilization. At the same time, the more prosperous the society is in terms of living standards, the more serious the situation is in terms of the number of people suffering from coronary heart disease.
What is coronary heart disease?
The human heart is a very complex, finely tuned and sensitive mechanism, the purpose of which can be reduced to one function - the delivery of substances necessary for proper functioning to each cell of the body.
In addition to the heart itself, vessels also participate in this activity, the system of which permeates the human body, which fully ensures the uninterrupted delivery of everything necessary to the cells of the organs farthest from the heart.
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The full operation of this system is ensured by the heart muscle, the rhythm and completeness of contractions of which also depend onnormal blood supply - the carrier of everything necessary for the normal functioning of the human body. Blood to the heart muscle comes through vessels called coronary.
Hence the names: coronary vessel, coronary artery, etc. And if the required blood flow in the coronary arteries is reduced, the heart muscle is deprived of nutrition, which leads to coronary diseases such as heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms and heart attacks. The reason for everything is coronary atherosclerosis.
What is atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, and why is it terrible?
Over time and under the influence of many factors, which will be discussed later, fats and lipids settle on the walls of the arteries, forming constantly growing sticky plaques that create obstacles to normal blood flow.
Thus, the lumen of the artery gradually decreases, and less and less oxygen is supplied to the heart, which leads to pain in the retrosternal region - angina pectoris. At first, these pains can disturb a person only during heavy exertion, but gradually they become a response to even small efforts, and subsequently they can also occur at rest.
Complications and concomitant diseases of atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries inevitably leads to such a disease as coronary heart disease. It is worth noting that the so-called heart diseases claim incomparably more lives than oncological or infectious diseases - and it is inmost developed countries.
Coronary artery damage naturally affects the heart muscle, which in turn causes angina pectoris, heart attacks, heart attacks, abnormal heart rhythms, heart failure, and worst of all, cardiac death.
Symptoms of Coronary Heart Disease
The human body has an individual anatomical structure. And the anatomy of the heart, the arteries that feed it, each has its own characteristics. The heart is fed by two coronary arteries - right and left. And it is the left coronary artery that provides the heart muscle with oxygen in the amount required for its normal functioning.
With a decrease in blood flow in it, retrosternal pain occurs - symptoms of angina pectoris, and their appearance is often not associated with special loads. A person can experience them both at rest, such as in sleep, and while walking, especially over rough terrain or stairs. Such pains can also be provoked by weather conditions: in winter, in cold and windy weather, they can disturb more often than in summer.
What you need to know about angina
First of all, this disease is the result of acute heart failure, provoked by insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle due to the fact that the coronary artery is affected - the left. Another name for the disease, known to many from Russian classical literature, is angina pectoris.
A characteristic manifestation of this disease is pain, alreadypreviously described. But it is also possible (most often in the initial stages) to feel not pain as such, but pressure in the chest, burning. Moreover, the amplitude of pain has a fairly wide range: from almost insignificant to unbearably sharp. Its distribution area is located mainly on the left side of the body and rarely on the right. Pain may appear in the arms, shoulders. Affect the neck and lower jaw.
Pain sensations are not constant, but paroxysmal, and their duration is generally from 10 to 15 minutes. Although there are up to half an hour - in this case, a heart attack is possible. Attacks can be repeated with an interval of 30 times a day to once a month, or even years.
Factors contributing to the development of coronary heart disease
As mentioned earlier, coronary heart disease is the result of damage to the coronary arteries. There are several commonly recognized factors that cause the coronary artery that feeds the heart muscle to fail.
The first of these can rightfully be called an excessively high level of cholesterol in human blood, which, due to its viscosity, is the root cause of the formation of plaques on the walls of the artery.
Another risk factor contributing to the development of heart disease, namely a heart attack, is hypertension - excessive blood pressure.
The coronary arteries of the heart receive great harm from smoking. The risk of damage to the walls of the arteries increases many times due to the harmful effects on themchemical compounds that make up tobacco smoke.
The next risk factor that increases the likelihood of damage to the coronary vessels is a disease such as diabetes mellitus. With this disease, the entire human vascular system is exposed to atherosclerosis, and the likelihood of heart disease at an earlier age is significantly increased.
Heredity can also be attributed to risk factors affecting the occurrence of heart disease. Especially if the fathers of potential patients had heart attacks or died as a result of coronary diseases before the age of 55, and mothers before the age of 65.
Prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease
To avoid or reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, you can follow, and strictly and continuously, a few simple recommendations, which include a he althy lifestyle, avoiding bad habits, reasonable physical activity and annual preventive examinations.
Treatment of coronary heart disease includes several options: drug therapy and cardiac surgery. The most common is coronary artery bypass grafting, in which blood is sent to the heart muscle along a bypass route: along a segment of a he althy vessel sewn parallel to the affected area of the aorta, taken from the patient himself. The operation is complex, and after it the patient needs a long period of rehabilitation.
Angioplasty of the coronary artery with a laser is another treatment. This option is more gentle and does not require dissection of large segments of the body. The affected area of the coronary artery is reached through the vessels of the shoulder, thigh or forearm.
Unfortunately, no matter what operations are performed, even the most successful of them do not get rid of atherosclerosis. Therefore, in the future it is necessary to comply with all medical prescriptions, this applies not only to medications, but also to the recommended diet.
