The heart has its own system of arteries and veins that supply it with oxygen and nutrients. This system is called the "plumbing system." If the blood vessels that supply your heart with blood are blocked, you may suffer from a heart attack. Therefore, a heart attack is essentially a problem with the plumbing system. Damage within this plumbing system weakens the heart muscle and its ability to pump blood to the rest of your body. Problems with the "plumbing system" or circulation of the heart is known as coronary artery disease, a condition caused by thickening of the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. When these arteries become blocked, the heart is deprived of oxygen and can become damaged. Severe cases can result in heart attack.

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The Role of Coronary Arteries

If you look at a picture of the heart, you will see several blood vessels surrounding the outside of it. These are the coronary arteries. It is through these arteries that the heart muscle gets its supply of oxygen.

There are several major arteries that supply the heart muscle. (See illustration above). Each artery has branches that allow it to feed a larger portion of the heart muscle.

The left main artery is not very long but it is the beginning of a system that feeds a large portion of the heart. The left anterior (toward the front of the heart) descending artery is one of the major branches from the left main artery. The other major branch is called the left circumflex (curved) artery. This system feeds most of the left side of the heart. Other smaller arteries are the diagonal branches of the left anterior descending and the obtuse marginal branches of the left circumflex. Also, the right coronary artery feeds the right side of the heart as well as portions of the left side.