Heart attacks, strokes, and varicose veins are all caused by blood clots, which may occur in different parts of the body.
Blood clots are believed to occur in the coronary arteries because of platelets that become sticky when they come in contact with the damaged lining of blood vessels, where atheroma formation had commenced.
A coronary thrombosis can block the blood supply to part of the heart muscle, causing breathlessness and a crushing chest pain. It is the most common cause of a heart attack.
Three coronary arteries supply the heart with blood; they are the right coronary artery and the two branches of the left coronary artery.
Their work is so important that it is dangerous if they are affected by a condition called atherosclerosis, on which fatty material builds up in the artery wall and narrows its blood –carrying channel.
Blood clots
