Treatment focuses on lowering your risk for heart attack and stroke and managing your symptoms. Lifestyle changes, medicine, and procedures are used.
Lifestyle changes
Lifestyle changes are the first step for anyone with coronary artery disease. Healthy habits can slow or even stop the disease and improve the quality and length of your life. These habits include:
- Quitting smoking and avoidingsecondhand smoke.
- Interactive Tool: Are You Ready to Quit Smoking?
- Eating a heart-healthy diet.
- Getting regular exercise.
- Getting to and staying at ahealthy weight.
- Weight Management
- Keeping a healthy mental attitude.
A cardiac rehabilitation program can help you make these changes.
It's also important to manage any health problems you have. If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, be sure you're doing everything you can to keep these conditions under control.
To learn what you can do, see Living With Heart Disease.
One Man's Story:
Alan, 73
"I've had to work at keeping my weight under control, and that has really helped my cholesterol. When you have heart disease, you learn to eat better for the rest of your life. And if you don't, you're asking for trouble."—Alan
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Medicines
You will probably have to take several medicines that lower your risk of a heart attack. These include:
- Aspirin or other antiplatelets to help prevent blood clots.
- An ACE inhibitor or a beta-blocker to help lower blood pressure and reduce the workload on your heart.
- A statin to help lower cholesterol.
To manage symptoms, you might take an angina medicine, such asnitroglycerin.
Procedures
If your angina symptoms get worse even though you are taking medicines, you may think about having a procedure to improve blood flow to your heart. These include angioplasty 
with or without stenting and bypass surgery. They are done when the coronaryarteries are severely narrowed or blocked.
with or without stenting and bypass surgery. They are done when the coronaryarteries are severely narrowed or blocked.- Heart Disease: Should I Have Angioplasty for Stable Angina?
- Heart Disease: Should I Have Bypass Surgery?
Palliative care
If your coronary artery disease gets worse, you may want to think about palliative care. Palliative care focuses on improving your quality of life—not just in your body, but also in your mind and spirit. It may help you manage symptoms or side effects from treatment.
If you are interested in palliative care, talk to your doctor. He or she may be able to manage your care or refer you to a doctor who specializes in this type of care.
For more information, see the topic Palliative Care.
This information is produced and provided by the National CancerInstitute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the NationalCancer Institute via the Internet web site at http:// cancer .gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Last Updated: March 12, 2014
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.
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