Causes of coronary atherosclerosis

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Pham Van Hung - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.
Atherosclerosis is a very common disease in modern life. In particular, coronary atherosclerosis is one of the most feared lesions of this condition. At that time, the blood flow to the heart is limited, the heart is ischemic, reducing its ability to contract, causing many serious consequences.

1. What is coronary atherosclerosis?

Atherosclerosis is a condition in which the walls of the arteries are hardened with narrowing of the lumen due to plaques, restricting blood flow, causing lack of blood supply to the organs. If this condition occurs in the blood vessels that feed the heart, it is called coronary atherosclerosis.
When a blood vessel is blocked or narrowed in an organ, there is a manifestation of ischemia in that organ. For damage to the arteries in the heart, it will cause myocardial infarction or ischemic heart disease, which in the long run will cause heart failure. At this time, the patient will feel fatigue, shortness of breath when exertion, long-term progress to continuous shortness of breath, shortness of breath when lying down, leg edema, little urine. When coronary atherosclerosis reaches this stage, the disease has worsened, reducing the quality of life.

2. Causes of coronary atherosclerosis

Unhealthy diet: Eat a lot of saturated fat, animal fat and trans fat found in some cookies, pies, red meat. Fatty dairy products will also increase total cholesterol, increasing the formation of lipid plaques on the vessel walls. Obesity, large waist circumference: This is a sign of metabolic syndrome, a risk factor for increased atherosclerosis, not only coronary artery. Inactivity, exercise: Regular exercise helps to increase HDL-cholesterol. Therefore, if you are sedentary, the risk of dyslipidemia will increase, which also indirectly causes atherosclerosis. Smoking: Smoking damages the walls of blood vessels, reducing the level of HDL-cholesterol in the blood, causing excess LDL-cholesterol to accumulate, forming atheroma. Old age: Lipid metabolism changes, increasing the storage process rather than the degradation process, causing stagnation in blood and organ tissues. Not only that, the elasticity of the vessel wall decreases with age, causing the vessel wall to become stiffer. Diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hypothyroidism: Chronic metabolic diseases affect lipid metabolism. High blood pressure: High intravascular pressure on the vessel wall damages the endothelial layer, losing its integrity, so it is easy for lipoprotein molecules to stick to it, forming atheroma.

3. How is coronary artery disease diagnosed?

The diagnosis of the disease is based on the patient's testimony and laboratory tests and imaging. It is evidence of clinical and laboratory signs of myocardial ischemia.
Patients often complain of reduced exercise capacity compared to before. Specifically, when carrying heavy objects, climbing stairs, walking long distances, the patient feels chest tightness, shortness of breath, shortness of breath and fatigue. Increasingly, the ability to work decreases, even daily activities such as changing clothes and taking care of themselves make it difficult for patients. When the contractile function of the heart is severely impaired, the patient has symptoms both at rest, chest heaviness and continuous shortness of breath, having to sit up to breathe.
If the artery is narrowed by atherosclerotic plaque, suddenly completely blocked due to thrombus or sloughing plaque from another place, it will cause the patient to have an acute myocardial infarction. The patient has severe left chest pain at rest and lasts for more than 20 minutes, which does not subside at rest. The pain was so severe that the patient was hospitalized. If delayed, the area of ​​the myocardium is large, the blood pumping function is no longer guaranteed, sometimes it can be life-threatening.
Image of coronary atherosclerosis causing myocardial ischemia first noticed on electrocardiogram. If the area is severely ischemic, it will cause movement disorders in the area on ultrasound, the heart chambers are dilated and X-ray shows the shadow of the heart. In case these signs are not obvious, the doctor will order an assessment of cardiovascular function with exercise by exercising the patient or taking drugs to increase inotropy, so that the anemia is clearly revealed. clearer.
In addition, invasive imaging by coronary computed tomography with contrast will give specific results of which artery branches are atherosclerotic, location and degree of stenosis. Moreover, with the interventional coronary angiography tool, not only can the results of coronary atherosclerosis be obtained, but the doctor can also intervene directly on the damaged coronary artery, helping to re-circulate the blood flow to the heart.

4. Where is the best place to check for coronary artery disease?

Patients with coronary artery disease can choose to be examined and treated at Vinmec International General Hospital. There is a team of Cardiologists, including Professors, Doctors, Specialist 2 doctors, Masters with experience, great reputation in the field of medical treatment, surgery, interventional cardiac catheterization. . Vinmec also focuses on applying advanced techniques in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, using a system of modern medical equipment that meets international standards.
In addition, Vinmec also has professional cooperation with prestigious medical units in the world, constantly consolidating and improving its expertise in medical examination and treatment.
For detailed advice on coronary artery disease and treatment methods at Vinmec, you can go directly to Vinmec health system or register online HERE.
Master, Doctor Pham Van Hung has 30 years of experience in examination and treatment of internal diseases, especially in Cardiology: coronary arteries, heart failure, heart valves, arrhythmias. ..Master, Dr. Hung used to hold the position of Deputy Head of Internal Cardiology Department and Head of Interventional Cardiology Unit at Da Nang General Hospital and is currently working at Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine, Internal Cardiology, and Cardiology. Interventional circuit at Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.

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