Healthcare:Coronary Heart Disease

One of the common heart disease is nonetheless, coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease results from a restricted suupply of blood to the heart muscle. When arteries become clogged, or narrowed, by deposits of hardened fat, cholesterol, and other substances called plague, blood does not flow through them easily. The most common type of heart attack is caused by a clockage of one of the coronary ateries by a blood clot that cuts off the blood supply to the region of the heart served by that artery. This damages or kills the deprived tiisue, and the injury is called a myocardial infarction. Angina is not a disease in its own right but is the name for pain that occurs when the muscular wall of the heart becomes temporarily short of oxygen.

Myocardial infarction is the leading cause of death for adults in the United States, Each year, 1.5 million Americans have a heart attack and one-third of these people die. Some factors that predispose people to heart attacks cannot be modified: family history of heart disease, growing older, and being male. But there are other risks that can be reduced or elimiated: cigarette smoking, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diet high in saturated fats, and lack of exercise. By not smoking, eating a healthful diet, exercising regularly, and treating their high blood pressure,many people can avoid having heart attacks.

Symptoms of a heart attack vary, but the most common is a persistent, crushing chest pain that may spread to the left arm, jaw, neck, or shoulder blades and last as long as twelve hours. Sometimes a heart attack causes just a mild pain that can be mistaken for indigestion, but ingestion can ususlly be relieved by antacids.

Some people have a feeling of impending doom, fatigue, nausea, vomitting, shortness of breath, coolness in the arms, anxiety, and restlessness. There are also "silent heart attacks", which cause no symptoms at all. To comfirm the diagnosis of a heart attack, doctors listen to the heart; check for abnormalities using an electrocardiogram, an instrument that records electrical activity in the heart; measure an enzyme in the blood; and in some cases order further tests.

Treatment is aimed at preserving the heart tissue, restoring blood flow in the coronary arteries, relieving pain, and making sure that the heart is pumping properly. Early diagnosis of a suspected heart attack is important, because immediate treatment can prevent further damage and save lives. For example, clot-dissolving drugs given within the first two hours can reduce the size of the damaged area.

Various drugs are used for the relief of pain, to improve the pumping action of the heart, and to prevent abnormal rhythms. Oxygen is usually given. In some cases, the doctor inserts a tube into the artery in order to widen the narrowed area. In other cases, coronary artery bypass graft surgery is performed, in which arteries from other parts of the body are transplanted to the heart to provide increased blood flow to the heart muscle.