Heart Disease

Heart Disease Treatment

Depending on the cause and severity of your heart disease condition, treatment options may include lifestyle changes, medication, surgery and/or other medical procedures.

Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle Changes may be the only treatment needed for Chronic Heart Disease.
              -Quit smoking.
              -Eat a healthy diet.
              -Live a physically active lifestyle.
              -Maintain a healthy weight.
              -Manage stress.

Medicines
You may need medicines to treat Chronic Heart Disease if lifestyle changes aren't enough. Medicines can help:
              -Reduce your heart's workload and relieve CHD symptoms.
              -Decrease your chance of having a heart attack or dying suddenly.
              -Lower your LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and other CHD risk factors.
              -Prevent blood clots.
              -Prevent or delay the need for a procedure or surgery.

Procedures & Surgeries

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), commonly known as angioplasty, is a nonsurgical procedure that opens blocked or narrowed coronary arteries.  A thin, flexible tube with a balloon or other device on the end is threaded through a blood vessel to the narrowed or blocked coronary artery. Once in place, the balloon is inflated to compress the plaque against the wall of the artery. This restores blood flow through the artery.

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) is a type of surgery.  During CABG, a surgeon removes arteries or veins from other areas in your body and uses them to bypass narrowed or blocked coronary arteries.

Cardiac Rehab is a medically supervised program that can improve the health and wellbeing of people who have heart problems.  Your doctor may prescribe cardiac rehab for angina or after angioplasty, CABG, or a heart attack.  The cardiac rehab team may include doctors, nurses, exercise specialists, physical and occupational therapists, dietitians or nutritionists, and psychologists or other mental health specialists.  Cardiac rehab has two parts:

1). Exercise training. This part of rehab helps you learn how to exercise safely, strengthen your muscles, and improve your stamina. Your exercise plan will be based on your personal abilities, needs, and interests.

2). Education, counseling, and training. This part of rehab helps you understand your heart condition and find ways to lower your risk for future heart problems. The rehab team will help you learn how to cope with the stress of adjusting to a new lifestyle and with your fears about the future.

_{-National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute}

Heart Disease Prevention

There are many factors that can contribute to a person getting heart disease but luckily there are always ways to prevent this very prevalent disease.

Eat a healthy diet: Choosing healthful meal and snack options can help you avoid heart disease and its complications.  Eating foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber can help prevent high blood cholesterol.  Limiting sodium intake can also help lower blood pressure.  It is also important to choose plenty of fruits and vegetables everyday when maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Maintain a healthy weight: Being overweight or obese can increase a person's risk for heart disease.  To determine whether a person's weight is in a healthy range, doctors often calculate a number called Body Mass Index (BMI).  To calculate your BMI use the equation and chart below.

Exercise Regularly: Physical activity can help a person maintain a healthy weight, lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure.  The Surgeon General recommends adults engage in moderate-intensity exercise for 2 hours and 30 minutes every week.  Physical activity is anything that makes you move your body and burn calories.  This includes jogging, biking, climbing stairs, walking, swimming, playing sports, etc.

Quit Smoking: Cigarette smoking greatly increases a person's risk of getting heart disease.  Smoking also raises a person's risk of getting a number of other health problems such as high cholesterol, various types of cancers and stroke.

Limit Alcohol Use: Drinking too much alcohol can increase a person's risk of getting high blood pressure which is a huge risk factor in obtaining heart disease.

_{-Centers for Disease Control & Prevention}