Wednesday, 12 March 2014

Spot out the presence of stable angin



Angina is not a new medical term. Instead it has becomes one of the common term heard in present medical word. This is the common form of chest pain that comes related with or signals heart failure. There are several causes that results in angina. This disease or medical condition is divided in the two types; stable angina and unstable angina. Stable angina comes frequently and last for only few minutes. On the other hand, unstable angina come unexpectedly and last for long minutes. If you feel any pain in chest, then it is must to check for the presence of stable angina. Here are some of the important symptoms of stable angina that help you to spot out the presence of disease.

Important symptom
The common symptom of stable angina is nothing but heavy pain and high pressure in the chest. Patients generally feel tight squeezing effect in the chest and the pain feel descending down to neck, shoulders, arms and jaw. When you feel severe pain, it should be treated as emergency condition and should consult the doctor immediately. It is all because of the insufficient supply of oxygen. Hence, never wait for even a single second to get medical help when the pain is severe.

Other symptoms

Other important symptoms include shortness of breath, heavy sweating, anxiety, giddiness, and rise in blood pressure, nausea and loss of energy. All these are the supporting symptoms of stable angina. Presence of any of these symptoms without pain in the chest can’t be said as stable angina. These symptoms can be experienced before, at the time, or after the chest pain. It is must to know about all these symptoms to protect your chest from severe pains. Knowledge about symptoms of diseases helps a lot in starting with early treatment.

Never ignore the symptoms
Once you have any or some of these symptoms, never ignore it. Give attention to it and consult the doctors to diagnose the exact problem. In case of stable angina, you can also feel tired and strong pain when handling heavy objects or loads. This pain shows that the heart fail to get sufficient oxygen required to engage in heavy works and doing exercise. Ignoring the symptoms can turn small chest pain to severe heart failure. Also have a look the causes of stable angina to know about how to prevent it. Also keep distance from unhealthy food habits, smoking, and excess drinking.


When symptoms are severe
When symptoms are severe, and the stable angina goes to its final stage, medical experts or doctors usually suggest for bypass surgery and balloon angioplasty. These are surgical procedures to remove the plague and make the blood circulation smooth without getting blocked.  If you are looking for a best alternative that is free from surgeries, then you can prefer EECP (Enhanced External Counter Pulsation).

These are some of the important symptoms of stable angina.

Thursday, 20 February 2014

Proper medication and prevention can give you a healthy and angina free life



Angina pectoris or angina can be referred as a temporary pain in chest that can result in a cardiac arrest or a heart attack, if ignored. In an attack of angina, the patient feel a sense of stiffness around the chest arean which results in choking, heaviness, squeezing or burning along with pain in neck, shoulders, jaws or back.

Causes
First of all, we need to know what the causes of angina are. Angina is primarily known as a coronary artery disorder. A cholesterol deposition in the arteries causes the narrowing of the blood passage through arteries resulting in the less supply of blood as compared to the demand of the body. This cause a lack of oxygen in the heart muscles during exercise or heavy work, and causes angina or chest pain.
Men above the age of 55 and women above the age of 65 are the most likely to suffer from angina. A high diabetes or cigarette smoking can also alleviate the disease to greater level. Other factors that can contribute to angina are obesity, irregular blood pressure, and a family history of heart disorders.

Types
The angina is classified into two types- stable and unstable angina. Patients suffer from chronic stable angina when the heart demands more oxygen than the regular amount, for example during exercise. This pain of chest decreases if the patient takes some rest. The patient can suffers from unstable angina anytime, and pain does not decrease even when the patient is resting. This is dangerous as it can convert in to a heart attack.

Treatment and medication
The medications for angina treatment vary according to its type. Stable angina can be treated with some rest and medication such as acebutolol, nitro-glycerine, and metroprolol. If you are diagnosed with unstable angina, then, it is advisable that you should consult a doctor so that your condition could be done in a right way. Another medicine that can relieve the angina is aspirin. It may not prevent the attack of angina, but can reduce the extent of heart damage, and buy you time to get medical advice. The studies have shown that a daily dose of aspirin has helped in preventing the episodes of angina in patients. The men who take aspirin regularly in the prescribed manner have less chance to suffer from angina than the men who don’t take aspirin regularly.

Preventive measures
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. You should change your life style in order to prevent the episodes of chronic angina. Start it today by doing the following:
·         Quit smoking or any use of tobacco
·         Maintain a healthy diet full of essential nutrients and vitamins
·         Do exercise regularly
·         Avoid any type of stress, professional or emotional.
·         Lose weight if you are obese and maintain a healthy weight.
·         Maintain unhealthy fat and cholesterol.
With complete information and proper treatment, it is possible to achieve a healthy life style.

Monday, 20 January 2014

Stents in Angioplasty- The Global Lifesaver



Changing work patterns supplemented with unhealthy lifestyle and food habits is taking its biggest toll on the human heart. In the last 20 years, heart ailments and related issues have proved to be the biggest killer among people of all age groups and class. More than 16 million people are inflicted with the Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) globally making it the most common form of heart disease. CAD is a regressive heart ailment caused by a condition called Atherosclerosis. In this condition, the heart vessels are clogged with fat molecules, cholesterol, calcium deposits and blood clotting fiber called fibrin. These depositions greatly restrict the flow of blood to the heart leading to weakening of cardiac muscles and inefficient functioning. Heart surgeons recommend several interventional for performing angioplasty.  The most commonly practiced procedures are as follows

1. Balloon angioplasty

2. Stent

3. Rotoblation

4. Atherectomy

5. Cutting Balloon

Among all the above processes, use of the stents in angioplasty is the most common and effective.

Inserting the Stents: The Overview of the Process

Coronary angioplasty is referred to as Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA). The process of inserting stents into the coronary arteries is called as Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI).  The balloon catheter is inserted into the blocked vessel using endoscopic camera assisted by robotic arms. The balloon catheter is inflated and the stents expand into the blocked artery wall. Once locked into the position, the stent expands to fit into the blocked space and gets fixed to the inner walls of the coronary vessels. The stent stays there permanently, preventing the operated artery from collapsing against blood pressure. In many ways, it resembles a module of a spring. The balloon catheter is, then, burst and pulled back. In a lot of instances, there is a strong possibility that the artery can be blocked again. This condition is called Restenosis.

There are 2 medically approved stent types: As per FDA norms, these are:

• Bare-Metal Stents (BMS)

• Drug Eluting Stents (DES)

To prevent restenosis, modern day stents are loaded with molecular agents that prevent fats from depositing on the walls. The agents include aspirin, thrombin and Brillinta. Unlike bypass surgery, stenting requires minimum invasion.  Patients are administered local anesthesia unless multiple stents are to be inserted. This procedure is a safe process and the patient can resume normal chores within 8-10 days post surgery. Despite its effectiveness over the long run, some precautions must be taken after the insertion of stents. Avoiding strenuous exercise or heavy lifting must be followed. Not adhering to regular follow ups may leave the stent wound from damages. The chances of it paving way for infection, blood clots and eventually may lead to death also in certain cases.

Thus following of doctor’s advice is highly advisable to live free of heart risks.

Monday, 6 January 2014

EECP: Keeping heart with care


Introduction:

There was a time when the heart diseases were one of those problems, which were feared by the people more than any problem. It is not that they are not feared in today’s time, but the various treatments, which are available to cure them or to control them, have made people relax on this thing a bit. The time when people used to die suddenly with these problems is long gone. Now the medical science has found the best treatments. Treatments and death rate are increased in comparison to past, but still heart attack is a major disease. Heart attack is the result of many causes, but the primary one is the heart, which cannot move the blood flow as required.

The common reasons of heart failure are high blood pressure, viral infections and diabetes. The medical science has developed many treatments to cure heart failure, but still it claims 6,00,0000 deaths per year.

There are a number of treatments, which can solve the problems related to heart these days and one of the most popular is the EECP treatment. The EECP is the acronym of Enhanced External Counter Pulsation and is considered as the most effective treatment for heart failure.

Process:

This is a treatment, which does not involve any medication before the treatment. There are pneumatic cuffs, which are attached to the legs of the patient from one end, and the other ends of these cuffs are attached to the necessary equipment. With these equipment, the practitioner is able to monitor the heart rate of the patient. The cuffs contract or expand as per the system of the electrocardiogram, which increases the preload and reduces the blood load.

Duration:

This therapy is continued with a person for 7 weeks, which include a session of 2 to 3 hours for five days in a week. This therapy affects the patients, and he feels very much active and peaceful after this treatment is over. This also increases the energy level of the patient.

Popularity:

As the time passes and the patients gain from this treatment, it is gaining more and more popularity in the medical field. Both men and women are equally benefited by this treatment.

Advantage:

This type of treatment has many advantages, which a patient can have. This is a beneficial treatment which takes the patient away from the horrors of surgery. Some of the benefits of EECP treatment are:

· This therapy makes it very easy for the practitioners treat their patients.

· This is a new kind of treatment, which does not need any opening to be made on the body.

· The patients are more relaxed due to the nature of treatment and co-operate with the doctor more easily.

· This kind of therapy is effective for all the patients who are between the ages of 19 years to 97 years.

· With no involvement of any kind of medication, the treatment is free of any kind of potential risk.