HealthDuties

There are a handful of drugs and medicines for the treatment of heart disease. The most commonly used medications belong to these groups:

• Beta blocking drugs/blockers (atenolon, propranolon, nadolon, etc.)
• Calcium channel blocker (nifidipine, diltiazem, verapamil, etc.)
• Nitrates
• Diuretics
• ACE Inhibitor (Enalapril, captopril lisinopril)

Another option is a balloon angioplasty. This is a non-invasive technique used to open clogged arteries. Also, bypass grafting involves creating an alternate route for the blood to reach the heart by using a vessel cut from leg.

There are six main symptoms of heart disease. They are: chest pain or discomfort, palpitation, lightheadedness or dizziness, syncope, fatigue or lethargy and breathlessness.

Diagnosing heart disease usually involves any or more of the following test:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG / EKG)
• Stress Testing
• Cardiac Catheterization and Angiography
• Echocardiography
• Cardiac MRI
• Transesophageal electrocardiography (TEE)
• Holter Monitoring
• Radionucliotide scanning

Heart Disease is a general term used to describe a group of diseases. Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the most common cause of deaths in the United States and also in developing countries where it is taking on epidemic forms. CAD affects seven million people in the USA alone. Each year approximately 500,000 people die due to CAD or related illness in the United States.

Coronary artery diseases are almost always caused by atheroma (plaque) and its complications, particularly thrombosis. However, coronary arteries are involved in other disorders such as congenital anomalies (like anomalous origin, fistula or malformations of a major coronary artery), aortitis, polyarteritis and other connective tissue disorders.

There are two types of risk factors for heart disease: fixed and modifiable.

Fixed factors cannot be modified or corrected. They include age, gender and family history. This may be due to genetic factors or the effect of a shared environment (similar diet, smoking habits, etc.).

Modifiable factors are those that can be changed. They include bad habits such as smoke. Tobacco is considered the most important avoidable cause of coronary artery disease. Another modifiable factors is high blood pressure (or hypertension). The incidence of CAB increases as blood pressure rises.

More modifiable factors for heart disease include:

• Physical Activity: Regular exercise (brisk walking, cycling, swimming for 20 minutes two or three times a week) has shown to have a protective effect
• Obesity: Usually associated with other factors like hypertension, diabetes and physical inactivity.
• Alcohol: Heavy drinking is associated with hypertension and other cardiac conditions.