Coronary artery disease: A lifestyle disorder turning the lead killer

Coronary artery disease is narrowing or blockage of the arteries and vessels that provide oxygen and nutrition to the heart .It is caused by atherosclerosis, an accumulation of fatty materials on the inner lining of the arteries .The resulting blockage restricts blood flow to the heart .When the blood flow is completely cut off, the result is heart attack. CVDs are the number one cause of death globally: more people die annually from CVDs than from any other cause.  Worldwide, there are approximately 17 million deaths annually from CVD, 7.2 million due to ischemic heart disease, 5.5 million due to cerebrovascular disease, and 4.0 million due to hypertensive and other cardiac conditions. In addition there are at least 20 million annual survivors of heart attack and strokes. App. 80% of the worldwide CVD mortality occurs in developing countries. By 2020, about 2.6 million Indians are predicted to die due to coronary artery disease. Kashmir’s picture is no different from other states of India. A study conducted on prevalence of CAD in Kashmir revealed that overall rural and urban prevalence was 6.80% and 8.37% respectively. It was high in males; 7.88% and slightly lower in females 6.63 %.Various researches have explained that low levels of biological risk factors and  persons who adhere to healthy lifestyle and diet are at low risk for CHD .It is confirmed that mortality caused by CHD is largely determined by diet and smoking. Further research is needed in this area: Large scale prospective cohort studies, controlled intervention trials need to be carried out to further find out the causal relationship between diet, lifestyle and the occurrence of CAD. There is a need to test combined effect of the most effective dietary and lifestyle intervention in primary and secondary prevention and to monitor their effect on health in general order to trace possible unforeseen negative consequences. Here we review some of the important works done in CAD. Food consumption patterns of various regions should be studied to analyze the risk. Detailed research is needed to know the exact components of diet causing the disease.