Ischemic heart disease occurs when patients have blockages in the arteries supplying their heart (coronary arteries). These blockages are virtually always due to atherosclerosis (build-up of fats in the walls of the arteries). If these blockages get too severe, your heart will not receive enough blood when you ask it to do more work (like when you walk briskly up a hill). Sometimes, blood clots form over the blockages, and the vessel becomes completely closed. Then blood flow to part of the heart may cease completely, and that part of the heart muscle dies. This is a heart attack.
Ischemic heart disease is the leading killer of American adults. You can reduce your chances of getting it by controlling your risk factors, including high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and cigarette smoking.
