The ischemia starts by some fatty deposits gathered up in the cells of the wall which surrounds the coronary arteries(the main source of blood for the heart). The fat deposits grow step by step into large twigs of the coronary arteries, process called atherosclerosis which brings about the narrowing of the coronary arteries which irrigate the heart muscle.

When you have ischemic heart disease ischemia the heart muscle is damaged because it doesn’t receive the needful oxygen and this is the cause of ischemia. A heart attack occurs when the blood vessels are completely closed.
Ischaemia refers to an insufficient amount of blood. The coronary arteries are the only source of blood for the heart muscle.  If this coronary arteries are blocked, the blood supply will reduce. The atherosclerosis is one of the most common cause of the ischemic heart disease.

At the beginning the coronary arteries or even their branches are becoming narrow or they are closed because of the debris flowed into the blood. This might feel like angina.
The treatment must involve advice regarding a change in patients’ life style, avoiding unhealthy behavior like smoking, alcoholism and unhealthy diet. In the case of diabetes and hypertension strict control is required in order to achieve the best results and increase life expectancy.

Ischemic heart disease doesn’t have known causes responsible for its development, but a multitude of risk factors have been identified, for example it is known that smoking is a major ischemic heart disease risk factor, as well as abdominal obesity, diabetes mellitus, heredity, sedentary or stressful lifestyle and age and gender (men are more prone towards cardiac diseases than women) hypertension and hypercholesterolemia are major ischemic heart disease causes.

Silent ischemia manifests itself mostly among patients suffering of diabetes because angina pectoris, commonly known as chest pain or the clinical manifestation of the shortage of the blood flow in the heart is not felt at all or it is perceived at a low level that is not considered a warning due to a condition called neuropathy, a form of nerve damage common encountered among patients suffering of diabetes.

Silent ischemia is very concerning in patients with diabetes because due to not showing any warning signs patients don’t consult the doctor and moreover they cannot be evaluated, diagnosed or treated efficiently. Worldwide cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality among patients suffering of diabetes.

Ischemic heart disease doesn’t have exact known causes, but there are certain risk factors that must be taken into consideration as for example age, heredity, smoking, diabetes or obesity.

The coronary arteries can also get narrow or, eventually, closed when the atheromatous plaques of the artery rupture are covered. This can bring about a heart attack. At ischemia the heart muscle is seriously damaged by a heart attack because it’s supply of blood no longer exists.
The consequences of this facts can be:

1) temporary pain (ischemia)

2) the activity of the muscle can be interrupted for a shorter or a longer period of time;

3) the heart muscle can suffer a permanent damage,in which situation it is irecoverable(infarct).

4) arrhythmias caused by irregular heart beat.

The lethal symptom of ischemic heart disease is sudden death also known as massive heart attack and it is caused by an abnormal heart rhythm, ventricular fibrillation, that prevents the heart to contract and pump oxygenate blood to the brain and vital organs, the only hope of survival for the patient is immediate CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and electric shocks with a device called external defibrillator in order to restart the patient’s heart.