Coronary
Artery Disease
Name: S. Vishruth
Section:11A/11D
I would like to extend my deepest
gratitude to Dr. Phani Kumar for his
mentorship and guidance.
I also acknowledge the mental support
that my friends and family have lent me
while I was writing this investigative
paper.
Index:
Page 4: Abstract
Page 5: Introduction
Page 6: The Disease
Page 8: Risk factors
Page 9: Treatment and Prevention
Page 10: Conclusion
Page 11: Citations and References
An Abstract
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) caused 9 million deaths in
2021. In every recent year, with the exceptions of years where
the COVID-19 pandemic was in full-force, CAD was the
single biggest killer. It is the most diagnosed heart disease in
the world, affecting nearly 250 million people. (British Heart
Foundation, 2025)
CAD is a type of heart disease in which the blood flow to the
cardiac muscles is reduced due to the build-up of plaque in the
arteries of the heart.
Symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pains,
myocardial infarction (a situation where blood flow to the
arteries is severely restricted), abnormal heartbeat, heart
failures and heart attacks.
Risk factors include hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol,
smoking, heavy drinking, a poor diet and a lack of exercise.
Simply reducing risk factors is a good way to severely
minimize your risk of CAD. Several types of medication such
as statins, nitro-glycerine and aspirin can be used for
treatment of CAD. Several surgeries such as coronary artery
bypass grafting and angioplasty can also be used for treatment
of CAD. (Wikipedia, 2025)
An Introduction
CAD is the development of the build-up of plaque in the
arteries of the heart. It nearly always is the cause of the death
of the individual affected. Even if one were to survive
myocardial infarction, they face a high risk of recurrent events
and have a mortality rate 5-6 times more than people without
CAD.
CAD is usually noticed when there is an inadequate supply of
blood and oxygen to the muscular tissue of the heart. The
condition results in a supply-demand shortage of oxygen.
The likelihood of death from CAD increases significantly
with age and modifiable risk factors. Among the modifiable
risk factors, the most significant regarding the likelihood of
getting CAD as age increases, is systolic blood pressure. (NIH
, 2024)
The Disease
As mentioned earlier, the development of the build-up of
plaque in the arteries of the heart is called CAD. Plaque is a
build-up of fatty material that narrows arteries and restricts
blood flow. If the lumen (space in the arteries) is 70%
obstructed, chest pain may occur during exercise or periods of
intense oxygen consumption. If the lumen is 90% obstructed,
angina (chest pain), occurs even during periods of rest. Severe
obstruction leads to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and may
result in severe angina and myocardial infarction.
Pain caused by CAD is known as angina pectoris, a
pain/discomfort in the chest. It can be triggered by physical
exercise or emotional stress, which may also occur when at
rest in the case of ACS. Patients also experience shortness of
breath, nausea and dizziness.
Research has shown that both men and women with CAD
experience chest pain, with this sort of presentation being far
more common than other types of atypical pain. Women have
also complained about experiencing easy fatigability and back
pains.
Angina pectoris can be broadly divided into two types: stable
and unstable. The difference being that stable angina pectoris
generally occurs during physical exercise whereas unstable
pectoris occurs even during rest.
Patients experiencing atypical pain are less likely to receive
accurate diagnosis and have a threefold increase in mortality
rate in comparison to those with regular angina symptoms.
In a few instances, patients may experience a pain in areas
other than the heart. This condition is known as heterotrophic
pain. (NIH , 2024)
Risk Factors
A mix of modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors cause
CAD. A heavy focus should be placed on modifiable risk
factors. A tight control on diabetes and high blood pressure
should be maintained.
In addition, smoking cessation, alcohol cessation, weight loss
and daily exercise should be made common practice. A special
emphasis should be placed on smoking as it is the most
dangerous risk factor for CAD.
Nonmodifiable risk factors include age, ethnicity, genetic
family history of CAD (it is more likely to emerge in people
who have parents/grandparents affected by CAD) and gender
(CAD is more likely to emerge in men). It is also more likely
to be undetected in under-developed and developing nations
as their healthcare is not as robust nor careful as that of
developed nations. (NIH , 2024)
Treatment
Treatment can be divided into three broad categories: lifestyle
alterations, medicine and surgeries.
Lifestyle alterations include ceasing smoking, losing weight,
maintaining a healthy diet, controlling diabetes and blood
pressure to a reasonable extent and toning down alcohol
consumption.
Medicinal treatments like cardioprotective and antianginal
medications such as statins, nitro-glycerine and aspirin can be
used to counter CAD.
Surgical treatment includes percutaneous coronary
intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).
These are done on a case-by-case basis depending on patient
profile.
Regular visits to cardiologists and GPs are necessary for the
long-term prevention and management of CAD. (Wikipedia,
2025) (NIH , 2024) (British Heart Foundation, 2025)
Conclusion
CAD is a very dangerous disease, that kills the most people of
any disease in the world. As we have seen throughout this
paper, we can both prevent and manage the progression of
CAD by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and if contracted, by
maintaining a regular treatment schedule. The number of
cases of CAD in developed nations has also been going down,
indicating a positive trend in the eradication of this disease.
This leads to this paper’s final point:
Furthering the treatment of CAD will lead to the saving of
millions of lives and further the development of mankind.
For this reason, CAD should be a top priority in medical
research and should be treated with more caution than other
diseases.
Citations and References
References and Citations:
British Heart Foundation. (2025). 5, 8.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/for-professionals/research/heart-statistics/bhf-cvdstatistics-global-factsheet.pdf
NIH , USA (2024). Coronary Artery Disease.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK564304/
Wikipedia. (2025). Coronary Artery Disease. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_artery_disease
Images:
Image 1:
Michigan Medicine: University of Michigan
Image 2:
Wikipedia
Image 3:
Heart Foundation New Zealand
Image 4:
Thomas A. Gaziano