Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death in the United States. It is responsible for one in four deaths each year, or around 600,000 deaths. This disease affects men and women, as well as all ethnic groups. Coronary heart disease is the most common cardiovascular disease, accounting for approximately 400,000 deaths per year of the aforementioned 600,000 total deaths from cardiovascular disease overall. In 2010 alone, coronary heart disease cost the United States $108.9 billion in health services, medications and lost productivity. These frightening statistics, released annually by the American Medical Association, demonstrate the immediate need for new and innovative ways to prevent, detect and treat coronary heart disease. This article will explore the molecular biology behind the disease while explaining the current treatments and prevention available, why they work, and what can be done to improve them. Coronary artery disease is defined by hardening of the epicardial coronary arteries. Plaque buildup in the arteries slowly narrows the lumen of the coronary artery. To better understand the physiology of the disease, it is important to first know the basic anatomy of the human heart. The aorta, located in the upper region of the heart, divides into two main coronary blood vessels, also called arteries. The arteries are located on the left and right sides of the heart and cover its entire surface. They then divide into smaller arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood throughout the heart (Texas Heart Institute, 2013). Therefore, the narrowing of these arteries due to plaque buildup significantly impairs blood flow throughout the heart. Deve...... middle of paper ...... susceptibility. Patients who subsequently required additional treatment for coronary heart disease showed significantly different protein expression than patients who did not require any additional treatment. This groundbreaking study offers a new way to detect coronary heart disease that is both cost-effective and less dangerous for patients. Cost-effectiveness and non-invasiveness appear to be a theme in the development of preventive treatments for coronary heart disease. A study presented by the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging suggests that the use of coronary wall MRI would encompass both of these factors. These MRI images compared the coronary artery thickness of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. It was found that these images could successfully detect arterial wall thickness in asymptomatic patients who otherwise would not have been screened for risk factors..