CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE......A SILENT THREAT. (By Shane Edwards)

As we all know, the heart is recognized as one of the strongest organs in the of the body which

functions as a blood pump. Day and night, it works tirelessly from the day that you are born to

the day that you kick the bucket (die, that's what it means 💀💀😁😁😁). Although this organ is a very

hard-working organ, certain diseases may arise, but the one that I am gonna focus on is

Coronary Artery Disease.

Now, Coronary Artery Disease is a disease where the inner walls of the coronary arteries

(specifically) gets blocked by plaque, making the walls more rigid and narrow, which restricts blood

flow to your heart. As a result, oxygen cannot reach to your oxygen, leading to a heart attack or, even

worse, cardiac arrest (Hmmmm……look it). This is a very serious problem if not treated.

Symptoms

·         Shortness of breath

·         Palpitations (irregular heartbeats, skipped beats)

·         Faster heartbeat

·         Weakness or dizziness

·         Nausea

·         Sweating

·         Angina (pain in chest, as well as legs, arms, back, jaw, neck, left shoulder

Here is a scenario where Coronary Artery Disease almost took a doctor’s life. Dr. David Cravedi of

Betheseda, 55 years of age (see picture), was a healthy individual. He ate well, didn’t smoke and

exercised daily. He didn’t have a family history of heart disease. But his early symptom of a potential

heart problem was an elevated cholesterol reading from a physical exam. In September 2005, he

awoke one morning with numbness in his left arm. His wife drove him to a nearby emergency room

to be checked. He was immediately placed in a helicopter and flown to a hospital specializing in heart

surgery. There, he was found to have had a heart attack. Further tests indicated the need for

immediate bypass surgery. Within 24 hours of his first symptoms, Cravedi awoke in a hospital

intensive care unit following a successful six "Don't wait to have a heart attack, like I did, to take the

necessary action to reduce your high cholesterol," said Cravedi. "I thought diet and exercise could

take care of it, and it did not. However, I have been told that there was little damage to my heart.

Perhaps my daily exercise routine produced a strong heart!"

 Do you see what I mean readers? This was Coronary Artery Disease pulling the strings of his life.

Now this what I like to call a Silent Threat. Because, if wasn’t treated on time, we would have

another cadaver on our hands, don’t you think so? Anyways, Coronary Heart Disease isn’t a walk in

the park. Eat well and live your life to the fullest!!!!!!!

Links

• http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-coronary-artery-disease#2

• https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/fall10/articles/fall10pg23.html

• http://watchlearnlive.heart.org/media/corart-02.jpg

• https://www.mountelizabeth.com.sg/images/default-source/COE-heart/coronary-artery-disease.jpg