What is  Coronary Artery Disease?

Your heart is your hardest-working muscle. Every day it beats about 100,000 times, pumping nearly 2,000 gallons of blood through more than 50,000 miles of blood vessels. Like any muscle, it needs plenty of oxygen. And the harder it works, the more oxygen it needs.

The heart gets oxygen from blood supplied by vessels called coronary arteries. When deposits, called plaque, narrow these blood vessels, blood and oxygen can't get to the heart easily: Then you have coronary artery disease. When your heart needs more blood than it can get-as you walk up stairs, for instance-it may complain with a squeezing chest pain called angina pectoris. But about one person in three with clogged arteries has no warning chest pain. For them, the first sign of trouble is a heart attack.

Symptoms:

In the early stages of coronary artery disease, while plaque is building up, most people don't know they have a problem. Symptoms often don't appear until an artery has narrowed by 70 percent or more.

The first sign of coronary artery disease is most often angina, which can include:

• A heavy, dull pain in the center of the chest that may feel like heartburn or an upset stomach.

• Chest pain-it can vary from tightness to the feeling of a crushing weight-that spreads to the throat, jaw, or arms.

• Chest pain that starts during exercise, cold weather, eating, or times of stress, and goes away after 30 seconds to 5 minutes of rest.

Tests can show whether any of your arteries have become narrowed, and if so, which ones and how badly. These tests may include: a chest X-ray, electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG), treadmill or other stress tests, echocardiogram, radioisotope scans, MRI, CAT scan, or a coronary angiogram and cardiac catheterization. Your doctor may use one or more to get a picture of your arteries.

The good news: You can take steps to prevent coronary artery disease by making smart choices about such things as your diet and exercise habits. Even if your arteries are clogged, you and your doctor can begin to treat the problem and even reverse it. If you've already had a heart attack, you may be able to prevent a second one.