Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease Pain. Arteriosclerosis is our second type of heart disease to cause chest pain. In this disease, the heart artery probably along with other arteries of the body, has a much thickened and roughened wall, which may greatly reduce the inside channel of the artery. This narrowed coronary artery channel allows a flow of blood through it which is insufficient to maintain the heart in a satisfactory and well-nourished state. We can now see why the name “coronary insufficiency” is sometimes used instead of arteriosclerotic heart disease.

Arteriosclerosis causes a good deal of narrowing in the heart artery of some people, and very little in others. Since the insufficiency of blood to the heart will therefore vary, the pain produced will also vary. With just a little arteriosclerosis, heart pain


Fig. 71. Pain of Arteriosclerosis. Pain is felt in the heart muscle because the blood supply is greatly reduced by the diseased and narrowed heart artery. The disease is termed arteriosclerosis (artery-sclerosis), which gradually closes and narrows the artery until it can’t carry enough blood. The undersupply of blood to the heart (ischemia) results in pain of possibly severe degree.

may not be noticed at all unless great exertion or hard work is undertaken. Then, the hard-working heart may demand two “or three times more blood, but if its narrowed arteries cannot deliver this great an increase, pain will develop. We are allowed therefore, to work our hearts only in proportion to the size of our “coronaries,” and their ability to carry blood, because with further exertion, pain will be definitely felt. A few people have such severe arteriosclerosis, that their narrowed heart arteries cannot deliver sufficient blood to the heart even while they are resting, and when even rest itself is too much effort for the heart “rest pain” in the chest results. Immediate medical care is necessary for these hearts or the future is dark indeed.

Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,