Men's Health

Men's Health Conditions

Coronary Heart Disease

What is coronary heart disease?

Heart attacks result from heart disease, which is caused by blood vessel disease in the heart. Specific names for heart disease are:

coronary heart disease (CHD)
coronary artery disease (CAD)
ischemic heart disease

Coronary heart disease is caused by atherosclerotiv narrowing of the coronary arteries. It can cause angina pectoris, heart attack, or both.

What are the risk factors for coronary heart disease?

Risk factors for CHD often include:

high blood pressure
high blood cholesterol
smoking
obesity
physical inactivity

Controlling risk factors remains the key to preventing illness and death from CHD.

Facts about coronary heart disease:

According to the American Heart Association:

Approximately 13,900,000 Americans suffer from CHD
CHD caused 476,124 deaths in 1996, and is the single leading cause of death in America today
This year an estimated 1,100,000 Americans will have a new or recurrent coronary attack, and about one third of them will die
At least 250,000 people a year die of heart attack within one hour of the onset of symptoms and before they reach a hospital
From 1985 to 1995 the death rate from heart attack declined 28.7 percent. In 1995 coronary heart disease death rates were as follows:
- 134.4 per 100,000 people for Caucasian males and 133.1 for African-American males (7 percent higher)
- 60.3 per 100,000 people for Caucasian females and 81.6 for African-American females (35.3 percent higher)

This page was last updated on: February 1, 2008.

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