Coronary Arteries are those who supply oxygen-rich blood to the entire heart muscle. Two major coronary arteries branch off from the aorta (the largest artery in the body ) and meet near the point where the aorta and left ventricle meet. These arteries have branches and they all together supply blood to all the parts of the heart muscle.
Coronary artery disease (the most common cardiovascular disease) is the damage in the heart’s major blood vessels. This is caused due to the restriction of blood flow in the coronary artery by the fat deposits (plaque). Cholesterol-containing deposits (plaque) narrows the coronary artery decreasing blood flow to the heart. Mainly the circulatory system is affected because the vessels that carry blood are part of it and any vascular disease affects the circulatory system because they include the disease of arteries and blood flow to the brain. The decreased blood flow may cause chest pain( you may feel pressure or tightness on your chest as if someone was standing on it), shortness of breath( when the heart can’t pump enough blood for your body, you may face this problem) and a complete blockage can even cause a heart attack. This disease often develops over decades, a person suffering from it might not notice until he experiences a heart attack. When the arteries narrow, they can’t supply enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart especially when beating hard, during exercise. The disease can also be caused due to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, tobacco use, diabetes or obesity.
There are more than 10 million cases per year in India and the most affected age group is from 41 and above. Around 23.5% of people died in the USA due to this disease in 2008 The disease can be diagnosed in various ways –
- Living a very healthy lifestyle.
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- Medication ( blood thinners, Statin, Beta blocker, calcium channel blocker, etc)
- Coronary arteries bypass ( restores the blood flow using a healthy artery or vein bypass a blocked artery.
This disease is the most common reason for deaths worldwide, with the help of recent advancements in the sciences and technology, scientists have developed novel therapeutic strategies such as stem cells, nanotechnology, robotic surgery. Transplantation can’t be done in this case because when it comes to the heart, doctors don’t want to take risks. Replacing the diseased heart with a new one even increases more chances of coronary artery disease and many others. This is because the replaced organ doesn’t accept the body due to its environment in most of the cases.
As discussed before, it is a deadly disease but the scientists have worked upon the new technology which is successful in today’s time. If we compare the time before the discoveries of this newly discovered technology, the rate of death due to this disease has come down. If we talk about the economic factors, the country with more new technologies are achieving success in these fields and many countries are rapidly growing. These technologies also are not against any cultural factors, unlike transplantations.