Heart Disease Treatment
When it comes to treating a heart attack, time is an urgent factor. That’s why calling 911 immediately when you recognize heart attack symptoms can save a person’s life, and failure to do so can result in death.
A heart attack victim’s life may be saved if cardiopulmonary resuscitation, more commonly referred to as CPR, is administered within less than five minutes of the person’s heart going into cardiac arrest. CPR means mouth-to-mouth resuscitation along with chest compressions. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation essentially allows the person providing it to breath for the person receiving it. Chest compressions force the blood to circulate in order to carry oxygen to the heart attack victim’s brain and heart. Performing CPR can keep a patient alive while you are waiting for emergency medical technicians to arrive with an ambulance.
Once the emergency medical personnel arrive, they’ll swiftly assess the patient’s condition. If they believe it is warranted, they will take an ECG, or electrocardiogram, record. In the event that the patient is exhibiting ventricular fibrillation and or he or she lacks a pulse, the emergency medical technician may use a defibrillator to shock the patient’s heart back into a normal beat. (Ventricular fibrillation is an arrhythmia that persists for an excess of a few seconds, resulting in the loss of blood circulation and consequently pulse, blood pressure, and breathing). Clearly, ventricular fibrillation is an urgent condition that can quickly kill a patient. Fortunately, emergency medical technicians know that there is not a second to be wasted when it comes to treating heart attack patients, and they’ve been trained to execute such life-saving procedures with the utmost haste. Some public places like sports stadium and shopping malls are even becoming equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) that can be administered by a layman. Of course, professional medical assistance is always preferable, and such equipment should only be used when proper medical attention cannot be administered in time to save a patient’s life.
Once a heart attack patient has been stabilized, his or her long-term treatment options include:
- Anti-platelet medications
- Anti-coagulant medications
- Surgery
- Clot-dissolving medications
- Supplemental oxygen supply
- Medicines that lower the heart’s oxygen requirements
- Drugs that prevent arrhythmias
Anti-platelet medications keep blood clots from forming in the arteries, while anti-coagulant medications prevent existing arterial blood clots from growing. Common anti-platelet medications include the following active ingredients: thienopyridines, glycoprotien IIb/IIIa inhibitors, and aspirin. Anti-coagulant medications include heparin and warfarin. Heparin has a high success rate when it comes to inhibiting the clotting process that glues lumps of blood platelets to each other. Heparin can be administered by injection or through an intravenous line. Some patients who are not helped by the aforementioned medications may need to undergo coronary artery bypass to open the blocked artery and restore the circulation of blood to the heart.
The main purpose of any form of heart attack treatment is to remove an arterial blockage as soon as possible so that damage to the heart muscle doesn’t progress. Treatment seeks to not only save the patient, but to preserve his or her future health and quality of life as much as possible.