A diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) can be difficult to accept and understand. If you do not have symptoms, it may be especially hard to recognize that CAD is a serious disease that can lead to complications. Coronary artery disease is caused by the gradual buildup of plaque on the inside of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply oxygen-rich blood to heart muscle.

It is important to talk with your doctor to learn about the disease and what you can do to help manage CAD and prevent its progression.

Making healthy lifestyle changes can delay and possibly reverse the course of CAD. Quitting smoking, eating a low-fat and low-cholesterol diet, and getting regular exercise are the most important steps you can take to reduce your risk of developing coronary artery disease.²¹ For more information, see:

Exercising for a healthy heart.

Eating a heart-healthy diet.

For more information on how to make healthy lifestyle changes, see the Prevention section of this topic.

Avoid getting sick from the flu. Get a flu shot every year.

Most people are able to control angina by taking medicines as prescribed and nitroglycerin when needed. See how to use nitroglycerin pills under the tongue. Remaining as active as possible is important for most people. But if angina is not controlled by the above, consider these tips:

• If an activity causes angina, slow it down.
• Ease into activities in the morning, and reduce activity immediately after meals.
• Change your eating patterns. Eat smaller, more frequent meals rather than 2 or 3 large meals.

When angina is more severe and cannot be controlled, the following tips may be useful:

• If it is feasible, it may help to move to a different home to avoid physical stress caused by climbing stairs, shoveling snow, or mowing lawns. Or find other ways to get chores done, such as hired help, family members, or trading for other services that are easier to do.
• It may be necessary to change the kind of work you perform to avoid physical stress. This may be especially important if your work involves heavy labor.

Taking nitroglycerin before an activity may reduce or eliminate the chest pain associated with the activity. Discuss with your doctor the use of nitroglycerin to prevent chest pain.

Do not use the erection-enhancing medicines sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra), or tadalafil (Cialis) if you are taking nitroglycerin or other nitrates. Combined, these two drugs can result in a life-threatening drop in blood pressure. If you are taking an erection-enhancing medicine and develop chest pain, be sure to alert the health professionals caring for you about your use of this medicine so that they do not inadvertently give you nitroglycerin or another type of nitrate. There are other oral antianginal medicines that may be appropriate.

Alert your doctor immediately if there is a sudden change in your angina symptoms or if angina begins to occur unpredictably or when you are at rest.