| For a year, Sandra Stephens thought it was acid | | | | alone. |
| reflux that was making her miserable. Last | | | | "When the cardiologist put the stent in," said |
| month she learned it was actually heart disease, a | | | | Stephens, "I felt like I could just take the biggest, |
| recent My Fox Houston article reports. A CT | | | | deepest breath there was!" She considers her |
| heart scan performed by cardiology specialists | | | | story a cautionary tale for other women. "You |
| showed one of Stephens' coronary arteries was | | | | know, you really have to pay attention to your |
| 90-percent blocked. | | | | body." |
| After further tests including a full body scan, the | | | | Coronary artery disease is a disease of the |
| problem was surgically corrected with a | | | | artery caused by the accumulation of |
| medicated stent, and the Montgomery county | | | | athermanous plaques within the walls of the |
| woman experienced immediate relief. The burning | | | | arteries that supply the myocardium. Angina |
| sensation in her gut and the pain between her | | | | pectoris (chest pain) and myocardial infarction |
| shoulder blades both disappeared. | | | | (heart attack) are symptoms of and conditions |
| Heart disease is an umbrella term for a variety | | | | caused by coronary heart disease. |
| for different diseases affecting the heart. As of | | | | Over 459,000 Americans die of coronary heart |
| 2007, it is the leading cause of death in the United | | | | disease every year. In the United Kingdom, |
| States, England, Canada and Wales, killing one | | | | 101,000 deaths annually are due to coronary heart |
| person every 34 seconds in the United States | | | | disease. |