Editing Cardiac arrest (section)

==== Coronary artery disease ====
[[File:Coronary Artery Disease.png|thumb|Normal vs blocked coronary artery]]
[[Coronary artery disease]] (CAD), also known as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, involves the deposition of cholesterol and subsequent inflammation-driven formation of [[Atherosclerosis|atherosclerotic plaques]] in the arteries. CAD involves the accumulation and remodeling of the [[Coronary circulation|coronary vessels]] along with other systemic blood vessels.<ref>{{cite book |title=StatPearls |vauthors=Pahwa R, Jialal I |date=2021 |publisher=StatPearls Publishing |place=Treasure Island (FL) |chapter=Atherosclerosis |pmid=29939576 |access-date=2021-11-05 |chapter-url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507799/}}</ref> When an atherosclerotic plaque dislodges, it can block the flow of blood and oxygen through small arteries, such as the coronary arteries, resulting in [[Ischemia|ischemic]] injury. In the heart, this results in myocardial tissue damage which can lead to structural and functional changes that disrupt normal conduction patterns and alter heart rate and contraction.<ref name="Saunders-2015" />

CAD underlies 68 percent of sudden cardiac deaths in the United States.<ref name="Zheng-2001">{{cite journal |vauthors=Zheng ZJ, Croft JB, Giles WH, Mensah GA |date=October 2001 |title=Sudden cardiac death in the United States, 1989 to 1998 |journal=Circulation |volume=104 |issue=18 |pages=2158–2163 |doi=10.1161/hc4301.098254 |pmid=11684624 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Indeed, postmortem examinations have shown that the most common finding in cases of sudden cardiac death is chronic, high-grade [[stenosis]] of at least one segment of a major [[Coronary arteries|coronary artery]].<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Falk E, Shah PK | chapter = Pathogenesis of atherothrombosis. Role of vulnerable, ruptured, and eroded plaques | chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1WifwPEsKQMC&pg=PA460 |title=Atherothrombosis and Coronary Artery Disease | veditors = Fuster V, Topol EJ, Nabel EG |date=2005|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|isbn=9780781735834|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603002043/https://books.google.com/books?id=1WifwPEsKQMC&pg=PA460&lpg=PA460|archive-date=2016-06-03|url-status=live}}</ref>

While CAD is a leading contributing factor, this is an age-dependent factor, with CAD being a less common cause of sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 40.<ref name="CDC-2002">{{cite journal |author1=Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) |date=February 2002 |title=State-specific mortality from sudden cardiac death--United States, 1999 |journal=MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |volume=51 |issue=6 |pages=123–126 |pmid=11898927}}</ref>