Lack of blood supply to heart muscle caused by atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries of the heart, thrombosing affected by atherosclerosis or normal arteries is called coronary heart disease (CHD). In developed countries the disease is the leading cause of death for people of working age.
Ischemia is translated from Latin means lack of blood supply. A man's heart is working incessantly for life. Therefore, it is always in need of oxygen and other substances necessary for the work. During exercise increases the body's need for oxygen and nutrients and the heart has to work hard, in turn, it also needs a strong blood supply. More sensitive to hypoxia only the human brain.
For delivery of oxygen to the heart muscle cells has a complex system of blood vessels. They are called coronary arteries. Narrowing of these vessels delivered oxygen and nutrients to the heart is reduced and heart muscle begins to suffer from oxygen deficiency.
The most common cause of narrowing of the coronary vessels are the so-called atherosclerotic plaques, which are formed on the walls of blood vessels. They lead to a decrease in the amount of blood pumped through the vessel to slow the flow of blood. Sometimes they can block the vessel lumen. Atherosclerosis is the cause of 97-98% of coronary heart disease.
Other causes (inflammation of the arterial wall, trauma, etc.) are much rarer. When the lumen is reduced, the delivery of blood is reduced, there is ischemia.
Especially dangerous is when the physical and emotional stress, when the heart has to work hard, when in turn the heart muscle needs a nourishing diet, and more oxygen and its delivery is limited. In such circumstances, there is an attack of angina pectoris or myocardial infarction.
Today, the main causes of changes in the vessels leading to coronary artery disease, referred to as dietary factors:
high-calorie food, leading to the development of obesity
excessive consumption of fat, especially animal, increasing the concentration of cholesterol in the blood
deficiency in the diet of vegetable oils (polyunsaturated fatty acids), as well as an excess of starchy foods and sweets
Insufficient intake of dietary fiber, pectin and fetatov contained in fruits and vegetables and have cholesterol-lowering effect
deficiency of antioxidants (vitamins A, E, C, coming from the food).
The disease may be different, so are the following clinical forms of ischemic heart disease, which may occur in isolation or in combination with each other:
angina (angina, stable angina, variant angina, or spontaneous)
acute form of ischemic heart disease: myocardial infarction (macrofocal, microfocal)
myocardial infarction
cardiac rhythm or conduction
heart failure
a form of silent coronary artery disease
Sudden death, according to the International Classification of these include cases of sudden cessation of cardiac activity possibly due to ventricular fibrillation or asystole (disappearance of heart rate) in the absence of evidence to put a different diagnosis.
The most common cause of sudden death is coronary heart disease and are defeated at the opening of the arteries of the heart.
