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Coronary heart disease, or CHD, is an accumulation of plaque inside the coronary blood vessels that causes a reduction in blood flow to the heart. To pump oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body, the heart requires oxygen and nutrients, which it receives from the coronary arteries.
This flow of blood through the coronary arteries is typically between 5 and 10 percent of the blood the heart pumps.
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Plaque, made up of cholesterol or other fatty lipids and fibrous tissue, can build up in the walls of the coronary arteries, a process known as atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
Atherosclerosis narrows the arteries through which blood must flow.
When enough plaque accumulates inside a person's coronary arteries to reduce or block blood flow to the heart, that person is said to have coronary heart disease (CHD). When not enough oxygen-rich blood reaches the heart muscle because of CHD, some people feel pain or pressure. When the lack of blood flow is brief, the discomfort is called angina pectoris (stable or unstable). However, if the lack of coronary artery blood flow continues, a myocardial infarction may occur. A myocardial infarction is damage to the heart muscle, or myocardium, that results from a prolonged lack of blood flow to the heart.
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