Ischemic Heart Disease
Otherwise known as Coronary Artery Disease, is a condition that affects blood supply to the heart. The blood vessels are narrowed or blocked due to the deposition of cholesterol plaques on their walls. This reduces the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the heart musculature, which is essential for proper functioning of the heart. This may eventually result in a portion of the heart being suddenly deprived of its blood supply leading to the death of that area of heart tissue, resulting in a heart attack.
As the heart is the pump that supplies oxygenated blood to the various vital organs, any defect in the heart immediately affects the supply of oxygen to the vital organs like the brain, kidneys etc. This leads to the death of tissue within these organs and their eventual failure or death. Ischemic Heart Disease is the most common cause of death in several countries around the world.
Risk Factors
The major risk factors for IHD are smoking, diabetes and cholesterol levels. People with high blood levels of cholesterol have a much higher tendency to develop the disease. High blood pressure and stress also may be risk factors
Symptoms
Quite often, the first sign of Ischemic Heart Disease may be the severe chest pain of a heart attack, which may be fatal. However, the warning symptoms occur in a large number of patients in the form of angina.
