What is atherosclerotic heart disease?
Heart disease is a result of the build-up of atherosclerotic “plaque” along the lining of the blood vessels which supply the heart muscle. When this plaque causes a significant narrowing of the blood vessels, people have symptoms of chest pain or “angina”, because there is insufficient quantity of blood flowing to the heart muscle to supply its needs. Even before this occurs however, the early build-up of plaque puts a person at risk for a heart attack. This is because plaque can be “unstable”, and if it ruptures, the arteries can become blocked, resulting in complete disruption of blood supply to a portion of heart muscle.
