As such, CDI specialists need to look for the acute reason for the admission, that is, the new symptom associated with the chronic CAD, which is often the cause of the inpatient admission. Physicians can usually monitor and treat patients very well in the outpatient setting. The thing that's tricky from a CDI perspective is that CAD is not something that typically needs to be treated in the inpatient setting, Ericson says. In addition, CAD weakens the heart muscles, thereby contributing to heart failure and different arrhythmias.
Prolonged oxygen deprivation can lead to tissue death, which is an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). If it's only a brief lack of oxygen, the patient might develop chest pain, more specifically angina, which is a specific type of chest pain associated with CAD. If the heart muscles don't get enough oxygen for long enough, infarction can result, leading to tissue necrosis or death, Ericson says. Usually, but not always, the complications associated with CAD are what lead to death, rather than the chronic condition itself, says Cheryl Ericson, MS, RN, CCDS, CDIP, associate director of education for the Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Specialists in Danvers, Massachusetts.Ītherosclerosis can reduce blood flow, and as a result it can decrease oxygen to the heart muscles. This chronic condition is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. It's also called atherosclerosis.ĬAD is the most common type of heart disease and occurs in a wide range of patients.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) develops when the arteries that supply the blood to the heart muscles become hardened and narrowed due to a buildup of cholesterol and other materials, such as plaque, on their inner wall.