The heart, which is the muscular pump that controls blood flow to the entire body, itself needs energy to work. This energy is provided by nutrients delivered to the heart by blood vessels called CORONARY ARTERIES. The word itself is derived from the latin word for "crown".... a model of the coronary arteries and its branches, when seen in isolation, resembles a crown !
When a coronary artery becomes narrow, the amount of blood that can flow through it becomes less. As a consequence, the heart receives less nutrition, and cannot work efficiently. This decreases blood flow to the entire body, in turn reducing efficiency of every organ system!
When fat content (especially CHOLESTEROL) in the blood increases, it is deposited in the wall of coronary arteries. This produces a PLAQUE. This plaque narrows the artery, reducing the volume of blood flowing through it. In addition, it roughens the surface that comes into contact with blood. When blood meets such an irregular surface, it CLOTS, and causes sudden total occlusion of the coronary artery....this results in death of a part of the heart muscle - A HEART ATTACK !
In coronary disease, more than most others, PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN A CURE. A clean and healthy life style is not difficult to achieve. A few tips:
Coronary bypass - also called CABG - is the single most common open heart operation performed in most parts of the world !
When a coronary artery is blocked, an alternate route of blood suppy may be created surgically. Using a variety of conduits (leg veins, other arteries) a connection is made between the major blood vessel of the body - the aorta - and the blocked coronary artery, beyond the area of obstruction. In this way, even though nothing is done about the block itself, blood is provided to the heart via the "bypass"....hence the term, coronary bypass surgery.
Literally, angioplasty means "fixing" an artery. In heart disease, it is a term used to describe a method to repair, or dilate, narrowed coronary arteries in a non-surgical minimally invasive manner.
The procedure - called PTCA for Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty - was introduced in the 1980s by Dr.Andreas Gruentzig. It has rapidly evolved, until today, multiple modifications allow usage of PTCA for almost all coronary artery narrowings.
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