Essays

Heart disease is the top killer disease today. It refers to any disease of condition of the heart, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, and congenital heart disease, disorders of the heart valves, heart infections, cardiomyopathy, conduction disorders, and heart arrhythmias. However, coronary artery disease is the most common. It is a condition that occurs due to the buildup of plaques or fatty streaks on the interior walls of the blood vessels that supply oxygenated blood to the heart muscle.

The heart is a muscular pump in the chest. Throughout life it beats continuously and rhythmically to send blood to the lungs and the rest of the body. The normal heart weighs approximately 10 1/2 ounces and is about the size of the first. It heals 60 to 120 times a minute. The average blood cell makes a round trip through the body's arteries and veins every 60 seconds, and can hit speeds of up to 10 mph. The heart pumps five quarts of blood around the body 500 times a day.

When the arteries become clogged with deposits made up of "bad" cholesterol, plaque, scar tissue, or calcium, the heart has a harder time circulating blood. This clogging causes a myriad of heart problems from angina pectoris (chest pain) to heart failure to a heart attack. Smoking, sedentary lifestyle, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and a genetic predisposition to the disease are the primary risk factors for the development of atherosclerotic heart disease.

What makes heart disease dangerous is there are no symptoms when the disease is in its early stages. The first symptom is usually angina Pectoris or heart attack. Angina pectoris is discomfort or pain in the Chest, typically brought on by exertion and relieved by rest. The pain= May be a dull ache in the middle of the chest or a feeling of pressure may spread up to the neck or down (lie arms. The major symptoms   attack is intense chest pain, suddenly cold sweating, weakness and nausea.

Heart disease is diagnosed based upon clinical history and physical Exam. Confirmatory tests include electrocardiography (electrodes are Connected to the chest and heart activity is monitored) and measurement of the level of serum creative kinas enzymes released into the blood By the damaged muscle. Another method is the heart imaging technique   Called and angiography (injection of dye into the utilizes followed by x- Ray).

Several treatment methods exist that help improve blood flow through the arteries. They include medications, balloon angioplasty bypass graft surgery and electrophysiological devices pacemakers.  Among medications, beta-blockers are used to lower blood pressure by reducing the amount of blood pumped by the heart. These drugs may also reduce the risk of a subsequent heart attack in patients who leave= .already had one. However, fatigue, impotence, abnormalities in fatty Substances in the blood and interference with blood-sugar regulation are some of the possible side effects of consuming beta-blockers.

Calcium channel blockers relax blood vessel walls, thereby lowerin pressure. Besides being expensive, these may cause side effects such as constipation and swollen legs. Diuretics lower blood pressure by causing the body to expel excess fluids and sodium through urinationl. If the desired effects are not realized with diuretics alone, in combination     may enhance the effect of other blood pressure medications.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors expand blood vesselsand decrease resistance. This allows blood to flow more easily and makes the heart's work easier. Angiotensin-2 (AT-2) receptor antagonists have been shown to achieve effects similar to those found in ACE inhibitors. Instead of lowering levels of angiotensin II, as ACE Inhibitors do, angiotensin II receptor blockers prevent it from effecting the heart and blood vessels. This keeps blood pressure from rising.  

Statins are very effective in lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and have few short-term side effects. They work in the liver to interrupt the formation of cholesterol from the circulating blood. Ezetimibe (Zetia) is a newer drug that lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol by working in the digestive tract to reduce the absorption of cholesterol. It is sometimrii prescribed along with a statin.

Balloon angioplasty is a nonsurgicai procedure designed to widen or expand narrowed coronary arteries. In this procedure, a thin plastic tube called a catheter is inserted into an artery in the patient's arm or leg. The catheter is then guided to the aorta (the large artery that conduct! blood from the heart to the rest of the body). From there it passes inio the coronary arteries. The procedure is monitored by a special x-ray camera called a fluoroscope. Once the catheter is passed into the narrowed coronary artery, a second, smaller catheter with a deflated balloon on its tip is passed through the first catheter. Once the balloon tip reaches the narrowed part of the coronary artery, it is inflated. Tilt inflated balloon compresses the plaque and enlarges the diameter of lh« opening within the blood vessel. After that, the balloon is deflated and the catheters are withdrawn.                                      

The result of this procedure is that the blood vessel is dilated, and blood can flow more easily through the formerly narrowed part of the coronary artery. In some situations, a small hollow tube made of metal mesh, called a stent, is used to keep the blood vessel open after a balloon angioplasty. There are new types of stents, called drug-eluting stenll that are coated with immunosuppressant’s that are slowly released and prevent the blood vessel from re-closing,

The principle of bypass graft surgery (abbreviated as CABG and sometimes pronounced "cabbage") is to construct a new channel so blood can get around the atherosclerotic blockages in the coronary arteries, Instead of trying to scrape out the plaques, the surgeon uses a segment of a vessel from another part of the body to transport blood to the far side of the obstruction. Usually the grafts are fashioned from one of the large, accessible saphenous veins that run down the inside of the leg, although recently there has been a trend towards using the internal mammary arteries located under the chest wall. For many people who suffer from unremitting angina, CABG can provide dramatic relief,

Pacemaker is used to maintain a minimum safe heart rate by delivering to the pumping chambers appropriately timed electrical impulses that replace the heart's normal rhythmic pulses. The device designed to perform the life-sustaining role consists of a power source about the size of a silver dollar (containing the battery) and, coin nil circuits, and wires, or leads that connect the power source to the chambers of the heart. The leads are placed in contact with the right   atrium or the right ventricle, or both. They allow the pacemaker to sense and stimulate in various combinations, depending on where the pacing   is inquired.

A normal person can do several things to prevent heart disease. First is to begin or sustain some regular physical activity as it will lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol. Second is to increase the consumption of vegetables, fresh fruits, low-fat milk and other dairy    products grains, fish and poultry as they would replace foods high in saturated fat with healthier foods. Third is to watch your weight as obesity raises triglyceride levels, which in turn promotes heart disease. Fourth is to know you family's history of heart conditions as a family History of obesity, diabetes, heart attack, stroke or high blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease. It is also important to reduce your stress level, and limit the amount of smoking and alcohol consumption and lastly, pay attention to the pain and have a check-up done.