What Is Coronary Artery Disease And How To Prevent It?

∞⋟============ Part I: Thanks Heart =============⋞∞

Every day, Coronary Artery Disease claims people’s lives across the globe. But why? Today we’ll discover their mechanism and suggest ways to prevent it from happening.

First of all, our heart pumps about 100,000 times a day. A very very hard worker indeed. Thank you, heart!

If we take the average heart rate, which is about 72 beats a minute, and then multiplies it for a day, that’s about 103,000 beats per day, without even adding the exercise or a sudden rush of adrenaline.

The heart muscles are the same as every other tissue and organ, they all need oxygen and nutrients to stay healthy.

Blood is the best transportation for that, and blood vessels are the tunnels for the route.

But you might think, doesn’t the heart get all of the blood it needs, since it’s literally the most blood area to flow through? Well, yes and no.

While the heart is regulating all of the blood, the heart’s wall is too thick for the blood to diffuse across. So, the solution is to have coronary arteries (blood vessels) run on the outside of the heart and feed enough blood to the heart.

Interestingly the way to feed the heart is by diastole. Unlike systole, when is the heart contracts to pump out blood to the rest of the body, our heart gets the blood when it relaxes under diastole.

(^- The Aortic Valve will close and drains the blood to coronary arteries -^)

The diastole process occurs when the heart relaxes, the blood will want to fall back in and get caught by Aortic (Semilunar) Valve (like a door to prevent blood to flow back inside the left ventricle).

The caught blood will then be drained out by the coronary arteries. This is where fresh oxygen-rich blood can nurture the heart.

As we can see from the picture above, the Aorta branches out of two small arteries on the left and right. The Left Coronary Artery (LCA) draws to the left side marginally and the left circumflex branch of it is stretching out to the back.

The Right Coronary Artery (RCA), follows a similar extension, stretching to the side, the back, and down the bottom.

The coronary arteries wrap around the outside of the heart, and small branches dive into the heart muscle to bring it blood.

∞⋟=========== Part II: A Closer Look ===========⋞∞

Okay, understand what the coronary arteries are and their functions, let’s take a look at how coronary arteries disease can greatly disrupt the whole process.

Basically, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), is the coronary arteries that get clogged to a certain degree, so the generalized term is also “ clogged disease”. Sounds familiar?

Inside a blood vessel, there are red, white blood cells floating, so as platelet and cholesterol. If there is damage to the vessel wall, chances are cholesterol want to be deposited there.

They think,” Hey man, here is a good place to hang out with.”

Gathering up, they stack up to their numbers at that damaged spot. Surely the white blood cells don’t like any of that. They follow in after cholesterol to get rid of them.

This kicks off a big inflammatory process called Atherosclerosis, which basically means the hardening of the blood vessel. Because this whole process over time makes that blood vessel wall hard and stiff.

Their fight will take off and unfortunately many white blood cells will die in the process. So the cholesterol just keeps depositing in there, and soon combining with other factors joining in, they create this fatty bulge called plaque.

Over time, the plaque will start to bulge into the vessel. This is the beginning of a clotting catastrophe. What’s more, this build-up could take years silently inside someone’s blood vessels.

But let’s back up a bit, what causes the damage to the vessel wall in the first place?

High blood pressure is likely the cause.

When the blood travels through a vessel, it creates very tiny friction every time against the wall in 360 (all angles). High blood pressure means the blood travels at a rapid pace, and of course, the friction created is greater than normal pace. If the wall isn’t strong enough or repairing work is delayed somehow, over time, the damage is noticeable for fatty substances to deposit in.

Now, plaque can narrow the blood path and cause a delay in oxygen delivery.

In medical terms, Coronary Artery Disease can lead to Stable Angina. This basically means a small part of the heart muscle doesn’t get enough oxygen when your heart beats faster. The feeling is like strangling chest pain.

This is reversible. That means when you lower the activity level and take a breather, then your heart can require less oxygen, and the blood that gets past the plaque is enough to supply that downstream bit of the muscle again.

The reason to call it “ Stable Angina “ is that you can predictably bring on the chest pain when asking your heart muscle to do too much work, and rest can relieve it.

The cause of Stable Angina can lead to a set of conditions called “ Acute Coronary Syndrome”. Further subdivided in the syndrome are Unstable Angina and Heart Attack.

When the covering of the plaque is ruptured, it bursts out all of the fatty substances and dead cells into the vessel.

And since these plaque materials are thrombogenic, meaning they trigger blood clots to form on them. So platelets and clotting factors are going to grab onto these materials inside the vessel.

One or two things can happen, first scenario is these rapture materials didn’t go in the vessel but were re-attached back to the wall, flapping back and forth. That sounds better, but it’s still a time-ticking bomb.

With the deprivation of downstream heart blood, you start to get chest pain, angina happening. But since the plaque is now flapping around, at any time you could lose blood supply to a downstream part of your heart temporarily. So in Unstable Angina, you can get chest pain at rest.

When the clot gets so big that completely blocks off that blood vessel, it’s called “ Thrombus “. Or, the clots break off into smaller pieces and flow downstream and block off a smaller vessel.

Because now, it’s not going to resolve on its own, you’ve completely cut off oxygen to a part of the heart. Says Hello to Heart Attack.

And heart attack is not the same as heart failure. Heart failure is when your heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the needs of your body.

A heart attack is when a piece of your heart actually dies because it itself isn’t receiving enough oxygen. Although they can cause each other to happen.

If you have one of the above problems, I highly suggest you chat with your doctor about the issue. Don’t worry, heart problems aren’t a big problem once we know how to tackle them, which you’ve already learnt their mechanism! Focus on natural cures and living positively is the way to go.

Now, we must appreciate our lungs and heart system for bringing in and out and distributing oxygen.

Because really, in a matter of minutes without oxygen, we could be in a very different state.

Our body is very meticulously designed, and self-care and self-love should be at the top of a few things on everyone’s list.

That being said, the mechanism of the whole disruption process isn’t complicated at all. So prevention can be very creative and varies, according to the person’s lifestyle.

∞⋟=========== Part III: Prevention ============⋞∞

1. Reduce the amounts of cholesterol

Primarily, cholesterol isn’t bad. Our body needs them to build cells, produce sex hormones, and more. But scientists classified cholesterol into two types because one can help the cleanup and another loves to make trouble.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) picks up excess cholesterol in your blood and takes it back to your liver where it’s broken down and removed from your body, while Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) loves to deposit within the walls of the blood vessels.

There are two ways; cut down LDL or boost HDL levels. The best solution is, do both, for the sake of the heart’s health!

2. Start with your diet, eat things that boost healthy blood vessels

Look for foods that help reduce LDL as well as improve the vascular system.

A.) Broccoli

- The presence of glucosinolates and high amounts of fiber will help to reduce LDL.

- Rich in vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin K, folic acid, zinc, iron, and calcium, they are essential for the health of the cardiovascular system.

B.) Brussels sprouts

- They are high in Vitamin C and Vitamin K, which are valued for their anti-inflammatory properties.

- They are a very good source of nutrients including folate, manganese, Vitamin B6, dietary fiber, choline, copper, Vitamin B1, potassium, phosphorus, and omega-3 fatty acids.

***Note that the adequate intake level of vitamin K for adult men is 120 micrograms (mcg), for adult women, it’s 90 mcg, and data can be varied from different countries.***

C.) Dark chocolate

Yes! (Finally CJ!) This delicious food helps restore the flexibility of blood vessels and prevents leukocytes from accumulating on their walls. This, in turn, greatly lowers the risk of atherosclerosis.

Cocoa is also rich in flavonoids and polyphenols, compounds that play an important role in protecting the body against cardiovascular diseases. But of course, excessive consumption might get you from indigestion, headache to heartburn. Moderation is the key!

D.) Strawberries

These berries stand out for having high amounts of flavonoids. These substances help to dilate the arteries and protect their inner layer. They also control blood pressure.

Seek a dietitian and they’ll make up a detailed plan according to your eating habit, lifestyle, health background, etc in a more personalized way.

3. Regularly connect with your breathing, and take blood pressure test if needed

In Yoga, the entry of connecting your body is by feeling your breath. Simply close your eyes and inhale and exhale for 10 deeper breaths.

During it, you can sense your blood pressure is trying to be in alignment with your action. Simply control the blood pressure to be slower with your breath and concentration. The more you practice this, the easier you’ll get into controlling your blood flow.

4. Exercise more to fitness the heart muscles

Exercise is always a great way to prevent any disease. A simple brisk walk for 30 minutes could help the heart exercise itself far better than you sit for one day. So, get up and start feeling your heart while doing exercise!

5. Live happily and talk about your heart with others

It’s definitely vital to live a life with a happy attitude. If you love life, life loves you. When you treat your heart right, your heart will be good to you too. 🙂

Don’t forget to raise awareness of coronary arteries disease and ways to prevent them, because you don’t know what somebody’s going through. And half of all heart diseases don’t have a trace to know until years later, sudden chest pain comes and tries to claim people’s lives.

***This is not medical advice but an article to share opinions with. Anything that does or doesn’t do should you consult with your medical provider’s advice first.***

Photos by Robina Weermeijer,Kelly Sikkema, Mufid Majnun, FLY:D, Marcus Löfvenberg from Unsplash and drgerardleong clinic.

Originally published at https://cjwrites.com on March 31, 2022.