What is the medical treatment for heart (cardiovascular) disease?

What is the medical treatment for heart (cardiovascular) disease?

• An aspirin may be used for its antiplatelet activity, making platelets (one type of blood cells that help blood clot) less sticky and decreasing the risk of heart attack. The decision to use aspirin routinely depends upon whether other risk factors for heart disease are present.
• Medications may be prescribed in patients with heart disease to maximize blood flow to the heart and increase efficiency of the pumping function of the heart.
• Beta blocker medications help block the action of adrenaline on the heart, slowing the heart rate. These medications also help the heart beat more efficiently and decrease the oxygen requirements of the heart muscle during work.
• Calcium channel blockers also help the heart muscle contract and pump more efficiently.
• Nitrates help dilate arteries and increase blood flow to the heart muscle. They may be short-acting (Nitrostat) to treat acute angina symptoms or long-acting preparations (Imdur) may be prescribed for prevention.
• Should there be significant stenosis or narrowing of the coronary arteries, angioplasty and/or stenting (described above) may be considered to open the blocked areas. These procedures are performed in conjunction with cardiac catheterization. Depending upon the patient's anatomy and the extent of the blockage present, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) may be required.
• If a stent is placed, other antiplatelet medications like clopidogrel (Palvix) may be prescribed.

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What is the treatment for heart (cardiovascular) disease?

What is the treatment for heart (cardiovascular) disease?

The goal of treating cardiovascular disease is to maximize the patient's quantity and quality of life. Prevention is the key to avoid cardiovascular disease and optimize treatment. Once plaque formation has begun, it is possible to limit its progression by maintaining a healthy lifestyle with routine exercise, diet, and by aiming for lifetime control of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

What lifestyle changes can a person make to prevent further heart disease or heart attack?

The goal of treating cardiovascular disease is to maximize the person's quantity and quality of life. Prevention is the key to avoid cardiovascular disease and optimize treatment. Once plaque formation has begun, it is possible to limit its progression by making these lifestyle changes:

• Maintain a healthy lifestyle with routine exercise
• Quit smoking
• Eat a heart healthy diet such as the Mediterranean Diet.
• Aim for lifetime control of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

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What are the signs and symptoms of heart (cardiovascular) disease?

What are the signs and symptoms of heart (cardiovascular) disease?

• The classic symptoms of angina, or pain from the heart, are described as a crushing pain or heaviness in the center of the chest with radiation of the pain to the arm (usually the left) or jaw. There can be associated shortness of breath sweatingand nausea.
• The symptoms tend to be brought on by activity and get better with rest.
• Some people may have indigestion and nausea while others may have upper abdominal, shoulder, or back pain.
• Unstable angina is the term used to describe symptoms that occur at rest, waken the patient from sleep, and do not respond quickly to nitroglycerin or rest.

Other heart (cardiovascular) disease symptoms and signs

Not all pain from heart disease have the same signs and symptoms. The more we learn about heart disease, the more we realize that symptoms can be markedly different in different groups of people. Women, people who have diabetes, and the elderly may have different pain perceptions and may complain of overwhelming fatigue and weakness or a change in their ability to perform routine daily activities like walking, climbing steps, or doing household chores. Some patients may have no discomfort at all.

Most often, the symptoms of cardiovascular disease become worse over time, as the narrowing of the affected coronary artery progresses over time and blood flow to that part of the heart decreases. It may take less activity to cause symptoms to occur and it may take longer for those symptoms to get better with rest. This change in exercise tolerance is helpful in making the diagnosis.

Often the first signs and symptoms of heart disease may be a heart attack. This can lead to crushing chest pressure, shortness of breath, sweating, and perhaps sudden cardiac death.

What causes heart (cardiovascular) disease?

Heart or cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and often can be attributed to the lifestyle factors that increase the risk of atherosclerosis or narrowing of arteries. Smoking, along with poorly controlled hypertension (high blood pressure), and diabetes, causes inflammation and irritation of the inner lining of the coronary arteries. Over time, cholesterol in the bloodstream can collect in the inflamed areas and begin the formation of a plaque. This plaque can grow and as it does, the diameter of the artery narrows. If the artery narrows by 40% to 50%, blood flow is decreased enough to potentially cause the symptoms of angina.

In some circumstances, the plaque can rupture or break open, leading to the formation of a blood clot in the coronary artery. This clot can completely occlude or block the artery. This prevents oxygen-rich blood from being delivered to the heart muscle beyond that blockage and that part of the heart muscle begins to die. This is a myocardial infarction or heart attack. If the situation is not recognized and treated quickly, the affected part of the muscle cannot be revived. It dies and is replaced by scar tissue. Long term, this scar tissue decreases the heart's ability to pump effectively and efficiently and may lead to ischemic cardiomyopathy (ischemic=decreased blood supply + cardio=heart + myo=muscle + pathy=disease).

Heart muscle that lacks adequate blood supply also becomes irritable and may not conduct electrical impulses normally. This can lead to abnormal electrical heart rhythms including ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. These are the heart arrhythmias associated with sudden cardiac death.

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Heart (cardiovascular) disease definition and facts

Heart (cardiovascular) disease definition and facts

• Heart disease refers to various types of conditions that can affect heart function. These types include:
  • Coronary artery (atherosclerotic) heart disease that affects the arteries to the heart
  • Valvular heart disease that affects how the valves function to regulate blood flow in and out of the heart
  • Cardiomyopathy that affects how the heart muscle squeezes
  • Heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias) that affect the electrical conduction
  • Heart infections where the heart has structural problems that develop before birth
• Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease in the US.
• Coronary arteries supply blood to the heart muscle and coronary artery disease occurs when there is a buildup of cholesterol plaque inside the artery walls. Over time, this buildup of plaque may partially block the artery and decrease blood flow through it.
• A heart attack occurs when a plaque ruptures and forms a clot in the artery causing a complete blockage. That part of the heart muscle that is denied blood supply starts to die.
• Classic signs and symptoms of coronary heart disease may include:
  • Chest pain (angina) - This pain may radiate or move to the arm, neck or back.
  • Shortness of breath
  • Sweating
  • Nausea
  • Irregular heartbeat
• Not all people with coronary artery disease have chest pain as a symptom. Some may have signs and symptoms of indigestion, or exercise intolerance where they cannot perform activities that they normally once could.
• Coronary heart disease is initially diagnosed by patient history and physical examination. EKG blood tests, and tests to image the arteries and heart muscle confirm the diagnosis.
• Treatment for coronary heart disease depends upon its severity. Many times lifestyle changes such as eating a heart healthy diet, exercising regularly, stopping smoking and controlling high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetesmay limit the artery narrowing.
• In some people, surgery or other procedures might be needed.

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