Significance

• Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a blockage of the arteries that lead to the heart. "This is due to the buildup of cholesterol and other material, called plaque, on their inner walls," according to the National Institutes of Health. The process restricts blood and oxygen supply to the heart.
  
  

Identification

• Plaque causes a hardening of the arteries called atherosclerosis. Cardiologists believe that this buildup is the body's attempt at healing injury in the arteries brought on by risk factors.
  
  

Risk Factors

• The University of Virginia Health System cites factors that encourage the development of CAD as being high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, obesity, a family history of the disease and a lack of exercise.
  
  

Pathology

• Pathology in coronary artery disease typically indicates adolescence as a starting point, with slow maturation of the disease through adulthood, both accelerated and modified by the prevalence of risk factors. As atherosclerosis grows, it progressively prevents the proper flow of blood and oxygen to the heart.
  
  

Effects

• This blockage establishes the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke. "Patients with established coronary artery disease who possess a confluence of risk factors, the so-called metabolic syndrome, remain at particularly high risk for a future vascular event," according to the Cleveland Clinic.