Coronary Artery Disease
Every organ, tissue and cell of your body depends on your heart to pump blood through your circulatory system.
But the heart itself also needs a sufficient supply of oxygen and nutrient rich blood to sustain the muscle
tissue that keeps the heart pumping. The coronary arteries supply the heart with the blood it needs to function
and thrive.
Coronary artery disease occurs when fatty deposits (atherosclerosis or lipid plaque) build up inside the walls of the coronary arteries. Fat and plaque can build up for many years without restricting blood flow. Once the plaque expands into over half the width of the artery channel, blood flow is severely diminished. When the heart muscles (myocardium) do not receive a sufficient amount of blood either myocardial ischemia or myocardial infarction occurs.
Myocardial Ischemia
Myocardial ischemia occurs when the muscle tissue of the heart does not receive enough oxygen. When this happens, the muscles of the heart do not work efficiently and the heart does not function properly. Generally patients experience chest pain or tightness (angina), shortness of breath or irregular heartbeats (palpitations) when myocardial ischemia occurs. However, in many patients, and particularly in diabetics, myocardial ischemia may be silent. Myocardial ischemia is a reversible if a sufficient amount of oxygen rich blood is supplied to the muscle before the tissue dies.
Myocardial Infarction
Myocardial infarction is often called a heart attack. It occurs when the muscle tissue dies due to lack of blood and oxygen caused by total occlusion of a coronary artery. If the area of damage is significantly large then cardiac function may be compromised enough that life cannot be sustained. This is the end stage of coronary artery disease. Currently myocardial infarction is not reversible though stem cell therapies hold promise as a future treatment method.
Contact MountainStar Cardiovascular Surgery online or call us at 801-743-4750 today to
find out about your surgical treatment options for coronary artery disease.