coronary heart disease

:  a condition and especially one caused by atherosclerosis that reduces the blood flow through the coronary arteries to the heart muscle and typically results in chest pain or heart damage High blood cholesterol … is an important risk factor for coronary heart disease—the leading cause of death in the United States.—The Journal of the American Medical Association, 22 Sept. 1993 The fatty acids called triglycerides significantly contribute to the progression of coronary artery disease, researchers have found.—The New York Times, 19 July 1994 … exercise testing is a safe and relatively simple way to quantitate cardiovascular performance and detect coronary disease when interpreted in conjunction with other clinical findings.—Terry Jopke, The Physician and Sports Medicine, March 1981