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Coronary Artery Disease
What is
coronary artery disease?
What
are the warning signs and symptoms of coronary artery disease? Angina (also
referred to as chest pain) is a warning sign of coronary artery disease. Do
not ignore this symptom, as it is often a sign of an impending heart attack.
If you or someone you know is experiencing angina, call 9-1-1 at once to get
to an emergency room immediately. It is
important to understand that men and women experience angina differently.
These differences are described below: Men typically
experience the following common warning signs of a heart attack:
Women may have symptoms
that differ greatly from men. While chest pain is often a key warning sign of
a heart attack, some women who have a
heart attack do not experience chest pain. A woman's pain may
be in the back, arm, neck, shoulder, and/or throat. Also, women will
typically have more "non-pain" symptoms than men. These include
vomiting, nausea, fatigue and shortness of breath. It is also
surprisingly common for people to experience no symptoms at all. This is
especially true of diabetics and those over the age of 75. We recommend that
these individuals visit their family physician and/or cardiologist on a
regular basis to continually monitor their health. How
is coronary artery disease detected? Usually
doctors suspect that you may have cardiovascular disease based on your
cardiovascular risk factors. During a physical exam, your doctor will
evaluate many of these risks, which include diabetes, high blood pressure,
high blood cholesterol, previous family history, history of smoking, etc. We invite you
to take our free online cardiovascular risk assessment at any time to
evaluate your cardiovascular health. It only takes about ten minutes, and
your results are generated immediately. Please print and bring these results
to your next physician visit. In addition
to evaluating your risk factors, there are also noninvasive imaging
techniques available to detect coronary artery disease at its earliest stage.
Young or old, it is extremely important to be aware of coronary artery
disease. It is a progressive disease that can lead to death or heart failure.
There are many treatment options which can slow the progression or in some
cases reverse the effects of the disease. The
non-invasive and catheterization technique available to detect coronary
artery disease are listed below (catheterization technique is noted with an
*):
What
are the treatment options for coronary artery disease? The safest,
simplest treatment for coronary artery disease is lifestyle change. Evaluate
your modifiable cardiovascular risks--high blood pressure, high blood
cholesterol, smoking, exercise, diet, weight, etc.--and work to reduce the
damaging effects of each risk factor. If you smoke…stop smoking, if you
do not exercise…develop an exercise regimen, if you have high blood
pressure…devise a plan with your physician to reduce your blood
pressure level…and so on. As coronary
artery disease progresses, medications, interventional catheterizations, or
cardiovascular surgery may be required. Your doctor will work with you to
devise a plan that is best suited for you. Medications
There are
thousands of medications available to treat coronary artery disease. The most
common medications prescribed are blood pressure lowering medications,
cholesterol lowering drugs, and anticoagulants (blood thinning) medications. Procedures
If needed,
your doctor may refer you to a cardiovascular surgeon for coronary artery
bypass surgery (CABG). This is more invasive than any of the procedures
listed above, but it is extremely safe and reliable. |
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