Atherosclerosis is a silent blockage of the coronary arteries that can trigger devastating and sometimes fatal heart attacks. Brought on by a range of factors including cholesterol, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, stress and genetics, the key to good health is recognising these risk factors and preventing them before it’s too late. Georgia Chan Downard, age 59, is a food professional, trained in France in the 1970s when dollops of butter and cream flavoured every dish. She looks and feels healthy but a routine cardiac stress test signals otherwise. Sue Isaac meanwhile, an African-American nurse in the Coronary Care Unit of New York City's Beth Israel Hospital, sought her doctor’s advice for excessive tiredness. An X-ray of her heart indicates a severe blockage in the top of her main artery – a blockage so dangerous that doctors call it "the widow maker”. Her situation requires immediate open-heart surgery. As the world’s number one killer, heart disease has no cure. Find out what the world’s leading scientists are doing to fight it and how this silent epidemic is beginning to affect younger generations.
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