Coronary Artery Disease
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Call 911 for Sudden Chest Pain
If you have any sudden or unexplained chest pain, call 911 immediately.What is Coronary Artery Disease?
Coronary artery disease, or atherosclerosis, is caused by cholesterol buildup (plaque) in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. The condition is the leading cause of heart attacks from reduced blood flow to the heart muscle.
Coronary artery disease develops over many years. It’s usually caused by risk factors such as eating fatty or fried foods, smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, kidney disease, or high blood pressure. The more risk factors a person has, the more likely they are to have blockages. But some patients are more likely to get the disease because of genetics.
Up to 30% of people who have coronary artery disease have no symptoms. For those who do, the most common are:
- Pain or pressure in the chest
- Pain in the abdomen, back or arm
- Chest pain during exertion
- Chest pain when emotional or anxious
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue during exertion
Sometimes, the first symptom is a heart attack.
UR Medicine's Treatments for Coronary Artery Disease
Heart disease remains the number one killer in the U.S., and the best way to beat it is to prevent it. UR Medicine’s Preventive Cardiology Program offers the most advanced, proven methods for preventing heart disease and enjoying a healthy lifestyle.
The first of its kind in our region, our program features
Support in quitting smoking.
The region’s only Women’s Heart Program.
Diet and exercise programs to help you lose weight and reduce your risk.
Heart disease prevention for the whole family, including high-risk relatives.
Research and access to the most advanced approaches for preventing heart disease.
- Diagnostic tests. If your doctor suspects coronary artery disease, you will be referred for diagnostic tests. UR Medicine Cardiac Care offers a full range of cardiac testing, including blood tests, electrocardiogram, stress EKG, echocardiogram, and myocardial perfusion imaging.
- Lifestyle changes. Several changes can help prevent or improve coronary artery disease. Our health care providers have recommendations to help you quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, eat healthier, and exercise more.
- Medications. For many people, the treatment of coronary artery disease includes medications that can help reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, thin blood, or slow your heart rate.
- Routine cardiac follow-up visits. This allows your health care provider to assess your cardiac status and symptoms over time.
- Balloon angioplasty and stenting. When a coronary artery is narrowed or blocked, a balloon angioplasty might be required to open it up and allow blood to flow. A thin catheter is inserted through a blood vessel and threaded to the blockage. Once in place, a tiny balloon is inflated, pushing fatty deposits to the sides of the blood vessel and restoring blood flow. Often, a tiny wire mesh called a stent is placed inside the artery to keep it open so blood can continue to flow.
- Bypass. For severe blockages, a coronary artery bypass graft may be required. In this surgery, a blood vessel from another part of your body is used to go around, or bypass, a blocked artery that supplies your heart.
Patient Stories
Rusty's Story
Rusty Lawrence was born with a congenital heart defect. Doctors didn't expect him to live past the age of three. By age 43, Rusty was dying of congestive heart failure. His only hope was a heart transplant.
What Sets Us Apart?
UR Medicine is a referral center for the most complex heart surgeries, which means other hospitals in the Rochester metropolitan area and surrounding region send their most challenging cases to us. These other hospitals trust us because UR Medicine Cardiac Care leads the Rochester metropolitan area and surrounding region in the number and scope of specialized services.
Our programs for heart failure, heart transplant, and cardio-oncology are unique. These and other specialty programs ensure that you get the very latest treatments for a wide range of conditions.
Our team of experts includes cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, interventional cardiologists and cardiovascular imaging specialists.
We also run the Rochester metropolitan area and surrounding region's only Women’s Heart Program, because there are differences between women and men when it comes to heart problems—including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. We’ve built a team of experts around personalized heart care for women.
And as part of an academic medical center, we’re involved in studies of the latest treatments. So our patients’ care is informed by the very latest findings.
Providers
Locations
View All LocationsWe serve you in the Rochester metropolitan area and surrounding region.
View All Locations22 locations
Clinton Crossings, Building G
2400 South Clinton Avenue, 1st Floor
Rochester, NY 14618
Noyes Memorial Hospital
111 Cara Barton Street
Dansville, NY 14437
Thompson Professional Building
395 West Street, Suite 307
Canandaigua, NY 14424
Finger Lakes Cardiology
410 Clifton Springs Professional Park
Clifton Springs, NY 14432
Located in the same parking lot as Noyes building
48 East South Street, 2nd Floor
Geneseo, NY 14454
Highland Hospital
1000 South Avenue
Rochester, NY 14620
999 East Ridge Road, Suite 1000
Rochester, NY 14621
1835 Fairport Nine Mile Point Road, Suite 200
Penfield, NY 14526
Red Creek (Calkins Corporate Park)
600 Red Creek Drive, Suite 100
Rochester, NY 14623
Lifecare Medical Associates
1991 Balsley Road
Seneca Falls, NY 13148
Strong West
156 West Avenue, 3rd Floor
Brockport, NY 14420
Jones Memorial Hospital
191 North Main Street, 3rd floor
Wellsville, NY 14895
Strong Memorial Hospital
601 Elmwood Avenue, Ground Floor, G-1200
Rochester, NY 14620
St. James Medical Office Building
7309 Seneca Road North, Suite 104
Hornell, NY 14843
Canal View Office Complex
140 Canal View Boulevard, Suite 104
Rochester, NY 14623
Ambulatory Care Center at Strong Memorial Hospital
601 Elmwood Avenue, Ground Floor
Rochester, NY 14626
140 Canal View Boulevard, Suite 102
Rochester, NY 14623
FF Thompson Hospital
350 Parrish Street
Canandaigua, NY 14424
Jones Memorial Hospital
191 North Main Street
Wellsville, NY 14895
Related Services & Conditions
- Heart Attack
- Angioplasty & Stenting
- Heart Block
- Acute Coronary Syndrome
- Angina
- Cardiac Catheterization
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
- Cardiology
- Surgery
- Stress Test
- Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
- Cardiac Imaging
- Holter and Event Loop Monitoring