Acute Coronary Syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome, or ACS, is a subcategory of a common heart condition called ischemic heart disease (IHD) or coronary artery disease (CAD). IHD affects the coronary arteries, which are vessels that supply the cardiac muscle cells with blood and oxygen. IHD is characterized by an imbalance between myocardial oxygen supply and demand. The primary cause of IHD is atherosclerosis, a process by which low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or “bad” cholesterol, gets deposited in the walls of the coronary arteries, which leads to their thickening. This thickening is referred to as cholesterol plaque or atherosclerotic plaque; these plaques can lead to narrowing of the artery's lumen and a decrease in blood and oxygen delivery to heart muscle. Lifestyle choices, in addition to unalterable factors, play ...