Reviewed by medical experts • For informational purposes only
Cholesterol plaque narrowing the heart's arteries - how CAD builds, why Indians get it a decade early, and what changes its course.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the narrowing of the heart's own blood supply pipes - the coronary arteries - by cholesterol-rich plaque built up over years. It is the commonest heart disease on earth, the leading cause of heart attacks, and a disease Indians develop earlier than almost anyone else.
The heart muscle feeds itself through the coronary arteries wrapping its surface. From young adulthood, cholesterol, inflammatory cells and scar tissue slowly deposit in their walls - atherosclerosis. As plaque grows, the artery narrows: less blood reaches the heart muscle, especially during exertion - producing angina (chest pain on effort). The dangerous moment comes when a plaque suddenly ruptures: a clot forms on it and blocks the artery outright - a heart attack, killing the heart muscle downstream within hours unless the artery is reopened.
South Asians develop CAD roughly a decade earlier than Western populations - heart attacks in the 40s and even 30s are no longer rare in India. The reasons stack up: genetic tendency to higher triglycerides and lower protective HDL, belly-fat-centered weight gain, exploding diabetes rates, tobacco, and urban lifestyle shifts. "I am too young for heart disease" is a sentence Indian cardiology has retired.
CAD is largely preventable and very manageable: cholesterol control, blood pressure, sugar, no tobacco, movement and - when needed - stents and bypass surgery return people to full lives. The articles in this section cover causes, symptoms, types, stages, food, medicines, prevention, treatment, exercise and complications - with emergencies always flagged first.
Coronary artery disease is cholesterol plaque narrowing the heart's arteries - causing angina on effort and heart attack when plaque ruptures - and it strikes Indians a decade early, making prevention a 30s conversation, not a 60s one.
Written By
Dr. Daksh
BDS
Reviewed By
Dr. Varun Gupta
MD Pharmacology, MBBS
Last updated on
27 Sep 2022 • 06:23 PM (IST)
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From silent buildup through effort angina to acute events and heart damage - the progression and how doctors grade severity.
Effort chest pressure easing with rest is angina; pain with sweating beyond 15-20 minutes is a heart attack - call 102/108.
The hridroga frame and arjuna tradition, honestly bounded - adjunct lifestyle support around statins, stents and the ambulance.
Heart attack, heart failure, lethal rhythms and sudden death - the complications that medicines, stents and vigilance prevent.
Statins stabilize plaque, antiplatelets protect stents, BP and sugar pills guard arteries - daily partners, never self-stopped.
Silent plaque, stable angina, unstable angina, STEMI and NSTEMI heart attacks, and vasospastic angina - the CAD spectrum.
