What happens?

So what happens if I have coronary artery disease? 

Coronary Artery Disease is the narrowing of blood vessels in the heart. The narrowing comes from having a buildup of Low-Density Lipoproteins(LDLs) in the heart's arteries, which can clog and eventually block the artery. There are three main arteries that power the heart: the Left Anterior Descending, the Circumflex, and the Right Coronary Artery. Each is about the thickness of a piece of spaghetti.They are non-redundant, meaning that if one artery fails, other arteries aren't able to take over their job.


Here's the story:
1) LDLs accumulate in the arterial walls

2) Macrophages appear to eat the LDLs
3) Macrophages become stuffed with LDLs and take on a bloated, foamy appearance, dubbed "foam cells"
 

4) Foam cells accumulated undeneath the artery wall causes a tear, or lesion, called a fatty streak.  Fatty streaks are visible to the naked eye, and a good indication of high levels of plaque, or a buildup of LDLs, calcium, and other materials the arterial wall.

5) The plaque mound continues to build up inside the wall and pool outside the wall as well, creating a hardened lump of LDLs, foam cells, and other waste.  This buildup is known as Atherosclerosis.

6) Eventually, the plaque buildup may rupture, causing plaque globules to flow downstream and clog the artery. Also, blood cells may begin to stick to the exposed plaque, causing a blood clot, also called a Thrombosis. When thrombosis occurs and causes a shortage of blood flow to an area, we call this ischemia.

7) Ischemia in the heart may be asymptomatic(especially in women), but can also cause angina, or heart pain. If the thrombosis is severe enough and an area of the heart begins to die, we call this a myocarial infarction, or a heart attack.