February is Philippine Heart Month by virtue of Proclamation 1096 signed on Jan. 9, 1973 by then President Ferdinand Marcos. The goal is to increase awareness among Filipinos about heart disease, a serious and growing health problem.
Coronary heart disease, also called coronary artery disease or heart disease, occurs when the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart are clogged with fatty deposits. This condition predisposes you to heart attack, heart failure, and other forms of heart disease.
You may not feel anything even if you have coronary heart disease (asymptomatic). If there are symptoms, these may either be pain, pressure, or chest discomfort. Pain, tingling, discomfort in the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach, and shortness of breath may also occur.
When blood flow to a blood vessel of the heart is cut off, the portion of the heart that is being supplied is damaged. Heart attack occurs. Symptoms of heart attack are pain, pressure; discomfort in the chest or other upper parts of the body like the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach; shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, burping, or heartburn. The heart cannot pump blood adequately to supply blood to other parts of the body and the decreased blood flow leads to sweating, cold clammy skin, fast and uneven heart rate. Reduced blood flow to the brain leads to dizziness or lightheadedness. A heart attack is a medical emergency.
The tests for coronary heart disease are:
1. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) – measures the electrical activity of the heart.
2. Stress or exercise test – You will be asked to run or walk on a treadmill while you have an EKG. This test helps your doctor assess the response of your heart to increased physical activity, which increases the heart’s need for blood. For patients who cannot run or walk, a medicine will be given to make the heart pump faster. As the heart pumps faster and there is coronary heart disease, ischemic changes will appear in the EKG.
3. Echocardiogram – uses sound waves to create an image of the heart as it beats.
4. Cardiac catheterization – the doctor puts a thin tube into a blood vessel in the leg or arm. The tube is moved up to the heart, then a dye is injected to help visualize the arteries of the heart (coronary angiography). The test will show whether any of the arteries in the heart are clogged.
Treatment of coronary heart disease include:
1. Lifestyle changes
2. Medicines to lower cholesterol level, control blood pressure, or treat diabetes. Aspirin or other medicines that prevent blood clots.
3. For chest pains (angina), nitrates, beta blockers, and other medications help relieve pain. Persistence of chest pain beyond 10 minutes, development of a new pain, or recurrent chest pains warrant immediate medical consult.
4. Stent procedure: the doctor puts a thin plastic tube into a blocked artery identified through coronary angiography and uses a tiny balloon to open the blockage. A stent, tiny mesh tube, is left inside the artery to hold it open.
5. Bypass surgery, also called coronary artery bypass grafting or CABG: the doctor removes a piece of blood vessel from another part of the body then reattaches the harvested blood vessel above and below the clogged blood vessel. This will divert blood around the clogged artery and allows it to go to the part of the heart that is not being adequately supplied with blood.
Explanations on the nature of the procedures, the risks, benefits and possible outcomes are explained by doctors to the patient and family before these are conducted. It is best that the patient and the family ask all their questions and seek adequate explanations before any procedure is done. By Josefina Laza-Luspian, Your Medical Corner Baguio Midland Courier February 11, 2018 issue
