About Coronary Artery Disease
We use this term to refer to the condition where the blood vessels supplying the heart (coronary arteries) develop blockage that can obstruct blood flow. The primary symptom of this condition is angina (usually felt as pressure or tightness in the chest), with more advanced blockage leading to a heart attack—actual damage to the heart muscle. The blockage is generally caused by plaque formation, which is the accumulation of cholesterol and inflammatory substances in the walls of the coronary artery. Much of what we do in cardiology attempts to slow or reverse this process.