What We Want You to Know About Coronary Artery Disease

Since heart disease is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States, it’s very much worthwhile to learn what you can about these conditions.  

At the top of this list is coronary artery disease (CAD), which is the most common form of heart disease, affecting more than 18 million American adults.

To get you started, our team of heart health experts here at LaSante Health Center gathered some pertinent facts about CAD — what it is, what the risk factors are, a review of the possible symptoms, and more. Let’s take a look.

A matter of blood supply

In the most basic of terms, your heart receives blood from your veins, sends it through your lungs to pick up oxygen, and then pumps the newly oxygenated blood out through your arteries. 

Under ideal conditions, your heart is strong and your blood vessels are free and clear, allowing the blood to flow freely and easily.

When you have CAD, there’s plaque buildup in the arteries that service your heart, which are blood vessels that stem from the bottom of your aorta.

This means that blood flow to your heart muscle, and the rest of your body, can become compromised.

Don’t expect obvious signs of CAD 

CAD builds up over time, and there often aren't any obvious signs during the early stages. Unfortunately, the first many people realize that they have CAD is when they have a heart attack.

In addition to a heart attack, CAD can eventually lead to congestive heart failure, which means the heart is unable to pump enough oxygen out to the body. The early signs of this condition include fatigue, shortness of breath, a cough, and swelling in your legs.

Your risk factors for CAD

When we mention plaque buildup in your blood vessels, one of the primary contributors to plaque is cholesterol, so having a cholesterol imbalance is a major risk factor. An imbalance is when your low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) are too high and/or your high-density lipoprotein (HDLs) levels are too low.

Outside of cholesterol issues, other factors that are associated with CAD include:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Family history of heart disease
• Obesity

If you have any of these risk factors, it’s always a good idea to come see us for a cardiac risk assessment.

Diagnosing CAD through testing

There are several ways in which we can test you for CAD, starting with a quick-and-easy electrocardiogram, which is a frontline diagnostic tool that assesses the function of your heart.

If more testing is warranted, we offer vascular radiology services. For CAD, we might turn to a coronary angiogram to monitor blood flow through your arteries as well as a coronary artery calcium scan to check for buildup in your blood vessels.

As you can see, we have the diagnostic tools necessary for determining whether you have CAD or any other type of heart disease.

If you have more questions about CAD or you’d like to undergo an evaluation of your risks for this common condition, we invite you to contact our clinic in Brooklyn, New York, today. We serve the Flatbush and East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Park Slope, Little Haiti, Little Caribbean, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens communities.