{"id":18906,"date":"2026-01-17T16:48:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T11:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/?p=18906"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:22:08","slug":"coronary-artery-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/coronary-artery-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronary Artery Disease: Causes, Symptoms & Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"coronary<\/p>\n

Coronary artery disease is a recurrent and common cardiovascular disease in India and also around the world. Majority of individuals with this heart condition of narrowing of arteries are from urban populations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to epidemiologic studies, the prevalence of coronary artery disease is between 7% to 13% in urban setups and 2% to 7% in rural populations. This alarming heart condition is a result of a rise in coronary risk factors like diabetes<\/a>, hypertension, smoking, obesity and physical inactivity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is coronary artery disease?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Coronary artery disease is a health condition in which there is a blockage or narrowing of the coronary arteries. These arteries are the ones supplying oxygen-rich blood to an individual’s heart. But over time, fats and cholesterol build up on the arterial walls, reducing blood flow to the heart muscle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coronary artery disease is commonly known as coronary heart disease, and a major cause of this health issue is atherosclerosis. This condition causes the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What are coronary artery disease causes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Coronary artery disease mostly develops over many years. It is caused by the buildup of fats and cholesterol in and on the walls of the heart’s arteries. This is also called atherosclerosis, and the buildup is called plaque. Arteries narrow down because of this plaque and block the blood flow; the plaque can also burst, resulting in a blood clot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some causes of coronary artery disease symptoms and atherosclerosis are:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Smoking or tobacco consumption.<\/li>\n
  2. High blood pressure.<\/li>\n
  3. Resistance to insulin or diabetes.<\/li>\n
  4. Lack of exercise.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    What are coronary artery disease symptoms?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Individuals might not notice coronary artery disease symptoms easily, as they only happen when the heart is beating hard, mostly during exercise. When the heart doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich blood, individuals show coronary artery disease symptoms like:<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Squeezing chest pain, tightness and heaviness, also called angina.<\/li>\n
    2. Fatigue and shortness of breath or dyspnea.<\/li>\n
    3. Cold sweats, heartburn and nausea.<\/li>\n
    4. Sudden dizziness or lightheadedness.<\/li>\n
    5. Pain that is spreading to the shoulder, back, neck, arms, jaw and sometimes upper belly.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      What are the diagnosis and tests for coronary artery disease?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      To diagnose coronary artery disease, medical professionals conduct a physical exam and certain tests. An individual’s medical history, lifestyle and family history are also important to determine the risk of coronary artery disease.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Physical examination:<\/strong> During a physical exam, an individual’s blood pressure is measured, providers listen to an individual’s heartbeat using a stethoscope and ask if they are experiencing any of the coronary artery disease symptoms.<\/li>\n
      2. Blood tests:<\/strong> To determine the risk of CAD or coronary artery disease, medical providers may advise blood tests to check cholesterol levels<\/a>, inflammation and signs of heart muscle damage.<\/li>\n
      3. Imaging tests:<\/strong> Doctors may ask individuals to get imaging tests like a CT scan, chest X-ray or heart MRI. Exercise stress tests may also be conducted along with an ECG test. <\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

        For helpful treatment plans and diagnostic tests, consultation with medical professionals and heart experts is essential. To learn more about coronary artery disease, download the Dr Lal PathLabs app<\/a>
        \ntoday.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        FAQs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
          \n
        1. What is coronary artery disease?<\/strong>
          \nCoronary artery disease definition states that it is a medical condition in which there is narrowing of the heart arteries and reduced blood flow to the heart muscle. This is caused by plaque (fats, cholesterol) built up in the individual’s coronary arteries.<\/li>\n
        2. What are coronary artery disease symptoms?<\/strong>
          \nMajor coronary artery disease symptoms involve shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, fatigue and pain radiating to arms, neck, jaw and back.<\/li>\n
        3. What are the tests for coronary artery disease?<\/strong>
          \nTo detect coronary artery disease, tests like basic blood work, EKGs, CT scans and invasive procedures like angiograms are performed. These tests are all designed to check an individual’s blood flow, heart function and artery blockages.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Coronary artery disease is a recurrent and common cardiovascular disease in India and also around the world. Majority of individuals with this heart condition of narrowing of arteries are from urban populations.   According to epidemiologic studies, the prevalence of coronary artery disease is between 7% to 13% in urban setups and 2% to 7% […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":""},"categories":[18,1787],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18906"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18906"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18908,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18906\/revisions\/18908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}