Since the beginning of this century, cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States for all age groups. Coronary artery disease is almost always the result of atherosclerosis, which is a narrowing of the coronary arteries.
Coronary arteries supply the heart muscle with blood.
This narrowing can reduce the blood flow to the heart muscle and can cause the amount of oxygen to reach the muscles of the heart to be insufficient. A myocardial infarction or heart attack can occur when a certain area of the heart is completely deprived of oxygen, due to a lack of blood flow. This is because a coronary artery is completely blocked from receiving any blood. Furthermore, atherosclerosis of the cerebral vessels leads to cerebral infarction, which is the most common cause of strokes leading to the death of brain tissue. There is no clear evidence that regular exercise that is discontinued has long-term protective effects for risk factors.