KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho | What does it mean to have heart disease?

Coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease or CAD, is a chronic condition. It doesn't go away. Once you've been diagnosed, expect that you'll need to make a lifelong commitment to managing it.

Of course, the severity of CAD varies greatly from one person to the next. Some people have little or no heart damage and few symptoms. Others are limited in their daily activities and require more aggressive treatment.

How the heart works

For the heart to do its job, it needs oxygen. There are special blood vessels that wrap around the outside of the heart. These blood vessels are called coronary arteries and they supply the heart muscle with blood and oxygen.

• When cholesterol buildup, called a plaque, narrows one or more of the coronary arteries, not enough blood can get through to the heart muscle. This can lead to symptoms of heart disease such as chest pain or angina.
• Sometimes an unstable plaque ruptures or tears open. A blood clot forms in the injured area and can completely block blood supply to the heart muscle. This is a heart attack. Vital heart muscle tissue is deprived of blood and oxygen and can't function.

How bad is it, doc?

Two important factors determine the severity of coronary heart disease: the location of the blockage and how many coronary arteries are blocked.

In general, the more blood vessels that are blocked, the worse your symptoms are. But certain arteries are larger and are responsible for supplying more blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. For instance, if the left main coronary artery is blocked, you may have more severe symptoms than if a smaller artery is blocked. You might hear about someone who has had a "triple bypass." That means three coronary arteries required bypass surgery.

Your doctor may do testing to determine how many and which coronary arteries are blocked. Test results help guide treatment.

Treating heart attack

When a heart attack occurs, the goal of treatment is to restore blood and oxygen flow to the heart muscle and limit the amount of permanent heart muscle injury.

To treat a heart attack, doctors may give a variety of medications. Some will break up a blood clot or stop it from getting bigger. Others help widen blood vessels to improve blood flow, relieve pain and reduce the heart's workload. Sometimes a heart attack is treated with emergency angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery to restore blood flow to heart muscle.

The sooner blood flow is restored, the better your outcome. For this reason, call 9-1-1 right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. Delays in getting medical treatment can mean permanent heart muscle injury or death.

Preventing another heart attack

To prevent a heart attack in someone who has already had a heart attack or who has heart disease, doctors often prescribe medications that reduce the risk of blood clots and help the heart work better. You will likely have to take these medications for the rest of your life.

Sometimes surgery or angioplasty is needed to open blood vessels, improve blood flow and reduce symptoms.

Luckily, treatments can be very effective. Lifestyle changes, medication and sometimes surgery can help many people live a long and productive life.