Ayurvedic Treatment Of Coronary Artery Disease
What is Coronary Artery Disease?
Coronary artery disease forms by the reduction of blood supply to the heart muscle due to build-up of plaque like cholesterol and fatty deposits on the inner walls of the arteries.These plaque can block blood flow to the heart muscle by causing abnormal artery tone and function. Without an adequate blood supply, the heart cannot work properly. This can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, or other coronary artery disease signs and symptoms. A complete blockage of blood supply can cause a heart attack.
It is the most common of the cardiovascular diseases, affecting approximately 16.5 million people worldwide over the age of 20. It’s also one of the leading cause of sudden death for both men and women. It’s estimated that every 40 seconds, someone has a heart attack.
What Are The Causes Of Coronary Artery Disease?
This disease can affect people of any age and can occur at any point of life. This disease can be congenital and another reason can be the changed lifestyle and eating habits. The most common cause of the coronary artery disease is atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of CAD which occurs due to cholesterol plaque buildup in the arteries. This can damage the blood flow to the heart. The damage may be caused by various factors, including:
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes or insulin resistance
- Sedentary lifestyle
There are rare causes of damage or blockage to a coronary artery that can also limit blood flow to the heart. These causes, which are typically related to atherosclerosis, are:
- A piece of blood clot that has broken off and can cause blockage downstream in a blood vessel
- An abnormally dilated segment of a blood vessel
- Artery vasculitis
- A spontaneous coronary artery dissection
What Are The Risk Factors Of Coronary Artery Disease?
There are many risk factors related to coronary heart disease. Some of these risk factors can be controlled through lifestyle changes and/or medications, while others cannot. Controllable factors include:
- Age (people over 65 at a heightened risk)
- Family history of the disease
- Sex (men at a higher risk than women until age 70)
- Obesity
- Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, especially type 2 but also type 1
- Being overweight
- Lack of physical activity
- Smoking tobacco
- Continuous stress
- Excessive alcohol consumption
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Coronary Artery Disease?
When your blood flow to the heart damaged or broken, you may experience a variety of symptoms. Such as:
- Angina (chest discomfort)
- Heaviness
- Tightness
- weakness
- Dizziness
- Pain in the arms or shoulders
- Sweating
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea
- Cramping
Prevention of Coronary Artery Disease
The same lifestyle habits that can help treat coronary artery disease can also help prevent it from developing in the first place. Leading a healthy lifestyle can help keep your arteries strong and clear of plaque. To improve your heart health, you can:
- Quit smoking
- Control conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes
- Stay physically active
- Eat a low-fat, low-salt diet that’s rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Reduce and manage stress
