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ARE THERE TREATMENTS?

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Balloon Angioplasty

  There are two main forms of treatments for coronary heart disease:

1.  Medicines:
  • Aspirin: 
                (A)  It lowers the risk of a heart attack.
                (B)  For people who have had heart bypass, it keeps the arteries from narrowing.
                (C)  It prevents blood clots from forming.
  •  Nitroglycerin:
                (A)  It helps the blood vessels to relax in which they widen and dilate.
                (B)  It helps the heart to receive more oxygen-rich blood.
                (C)  It helps to stop chest pain caused by an agina.
                (D)  It can be administered through tablets, sprays, or patches.                 
2.  Transcatheter Interventions and Surgeries
:
  • Balloon Angioplasty:
                (A)  Also known as coronary angioplasty.
                (B)  A balloon-tipped catheter is used to push the plague build-up against the walls of the arteries to increase blood flow to the heart.
                (C)  The balloon is inflated and deflated to open the artery and push the plague back.
                (D)  Stents, metal tubes, are sometimes inserted in the artery, where they will permanently remain, to help keep the arteries open.
                (E)  Intervention is completed while the patient is awake.
                (F)  This intervention usually last 1 to 2 hours.
                (G)  The blood vessel can become blocked again in as short as 6 months.
  •  Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery:
                (A)  Also known as coronary artery bypass graft.
                (B)  An artery, called a surgical graft, is used from the wrist, chest, or leg and is attached above and below the narrowed part of a blocked artery, creating a "bypass."
                (C)  There can be multiple bypassses.
                (D)  Preferred procedure for patients who have CHD and diabetes.
                (E)  Bypasses can close, but only with about 10% of patients and after 10 years.



There are many ways in which coronary heart disease can be diagnosed.  Diagnostic tests include:

  •  Electrocardiography (ECG or EKG)
  •  Chest X-ray
  •  Blood Tests
  •  Nuclear Scanning
  •  Cardiac Catherterization
  •   Stress Test
  •   Coronary Angiogprahy
  •   Echocardiography



chest x-ray