Coronary Heart Disease

What is coronary heart disease?

Coronary heart disease happens when the blood vessels that supply your heart muscle become blocked or narrowed. Think of these vessels like pipes carrying water to your heart - if they get clogged up, your heart doesn't get all the blood it needs to work properly.

Your heart is about the size of your fist and beats roughly 70 times every minute. It needs its own blood supply to keep working, just like any other muscle in your body.

What causes it?

Over time, fatty substances can build up inside your heart's blood vessels. This is a bit like how pipes in an old house might get furred up with limescale. The medical name for this process is atherosclerosis, but you can think of it as your arteries getting clogged.

Several things make this more likely to happen:

• Smoking
• Drinking too much alcohol regularly
• High cholesterol levels in your blood
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Family history of heart problems

What are the symptoms?

The main warning signs include:

• Chest pain or discomfort
• Being out of breath
• Pain in your neck, shoulders, jaw or arms
• Feeling faint or dizzy
• Feeling sick

Important: Not everyone gets the same symptoms, and some people have no symptoms at all before the condition is found.

When to seek help urgently

Call 999 immediately if you have:

• Severe chest pain that doesn't go away
• Chest pain with sweating, feeling sick, or being out of breath
• Chest pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck or jaw

These could be signs of a heart attack, which needs emergency treatment.

For other symptoms, speak to your GP as soon as possible.

How is it diagnosed?

Your GP might check your risk by asking about:

• Your family history
• Your lifestyle habits
• Any other health conditions you have

They may arrange a blood test and possibly other tests like:

• An ECG (heart tracing)
• An echocardiogram (heart ultrasound)
• A chest X-ray
• Specialised heart scans

Can it be treated?

While coronary heart disease can't be cured, it can definitely be managed. Treatment might include:

Lifestyle changes:

• Regular exercise (as advised by your GP)
• Stopping smoking
• Eating a healthy, balanced diet
• Limiting alcohol

Medicines: Your GP might prescribe medications to help protect your heart and manage your symptoms.

Procedures: Sometimes, procedures like angioplasty (opening blocked arteries) or surgery might be needed.

Prevention

The good news is that you can reduce your risk by:

• Not smoking
• Being physically active
• Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables
• Keeping your weight healthy
• Limiting alcohol
• Managing conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure

Remember, speak to your GP if you're worried about your heart health or have any symptoms. They can assess your individual risk and suggest the best ways to keep your heart healthy.

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Based on NHS.uk guidance. Written by Dr Krishnan Pasupathi, NHS GP.