DISEASE PROCESS
(Please complete for each disease your patient has and cite reference and page numbers)
● Highlight your client’s etiology, symptoms and complications

CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE
(CAD)

DEFINITION
:
A disorder that impedes the blood flow in the arteries serving the myocardium of the heart. (CAD includes stable angina pectoris and acute coronary syndromes) ETIOLOGY: Cause of disease: The primary causes of CAD are arteriosclerotic and atherosclerotic processes, which narrow and occlude the vessel lumen and thicken the arterial walls. Risk factors: Underlying disease processes (e.g., hypertension or diabetes)
Familial hyperlipidemia
Gender (males ages 35 to 55, females after menopause)
Smoking
Elevated serum lipids
Sedentary lifestyle
Obesity
Stress
Use of birth control pills or estrogen in women under age 50

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY (process underlying the disordered function): The exact pathological mechanisms that induce atherosclerosis are not well understood.
Current hypotheses are 1. the lipid hypothesis, in which an elevation of plasma low­density lipoprotein penetrates the arterial wall and causes a lipid buildup in the smooth muscle cells, and 2. the endothelial injury hypothesis, which suggests that a mechanical or chemical injury to the endothelial barrier sets up a tissue response, with platelet adhesion and aggregation. In either case, atherosclerosis is marked by changes in and thickening of the intimal lining of the arterial vessel. Lipids, smooth muscle cells, and connective tissue form a plaquelike substance on the lining. This process is slow and may occur over a lifetime. Arteriosclerosis causes hypertrophy and subintimal fibrosis, resulting in intimal thickening and loss of elasticity of the vessel wall, which widens the pulse pressure and increases the systolic pressure. Atherosclerotic processes reinforced this loss of elasticity. Arterial