The heart muscle needs a constant supply of oxygen and glucose for aerobic respiration. It gets this from the coronary arteries, which branch off the aorta and spread over the surface of the heart.Coronary heart disease (CHD) happens when atherosclerosis develops in the coronary arteries. Plaques narrow the lumen, so less blood can flow through. The heart muscle beyond the narrowed region receives less oxygen. A reduced blood supply to a tissue is called ischaemia.CHD develops slowly. At first there may be no symptoms, because enough blood gets through while the person is resting. As the narrowing gets worse, the heart muscle cannot get enough oxygen when it has to work harder. CHD can lead to:• angina, chest pain when the heart muscle is short of oxygen
• a heart attack, when a coronary artery becomes completely blocked
• heart failure, when the damaged heart can no longer pump blood effectivelyTreatment. Lifestyle changes and drugs, such as statins to lower cholesterol and drugs to lower blood pressure, slow the progress of the disease. Narrowed arteries can also be treated directly:• In angioplasty, a small balloon is inflated inside the narrowed artery to widen it, and a stent, a small mesh tube, is often left in place to hold it open.
• In bypass surgery, a section of blood vessel taken from elsewhere in the body is attached so that blood can flow around the blockage.
• a heart attack, when a coronary artery becomes completely blocked
• heart failure, when the damaged heart can no longer pump blood effectivelyTreatment. Lifestyle changes and drugs, such as statins to lower cholesterol and drugs to lower blood pressure, slow the progress of the disease. Narrowed arteries can also be treated directly:• In angioplasty, a small balloon is inflated inside the narrowed artery to widen it, and a stent, a small mesh tube, is often left in place to hold it open.
• In bypass surgery, a section of blood vessel taken from elsewhere in the body is attached so that blood can flow around the blockage.