The lifestyle of people today has changed a lot from the past, especially those who live in big cities. Who are stressed with work. Have almost no time to exercise, and also smoke. Most of the food they eat is fast food because it is fast. Most of the food is high in saturated fat, which makes it easier for diseases to occur. Coronary artery disease is another disease with an alarmingly high rate of incidence. Once coronary artery disease occurs, it cannot be completely cured. You must take medication for the rest of your life.
Coronary artery disease is caused by fat and plaque buildup inside the arteries. Causing blockage or rupture of the blood vessels, resulting in lack of blood supply to the heart muscle. There are many risk factors that cause coronary artery disease, both controllable and uncontrollable. Controllable factors include underlying diseases (diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol), weight, and lifestyle, such as diet, alcohol consumption, smoking, and stress. Uncontrollable factors include age, gender, and race.
Coronary artery disease is divided into 2 types:
Acute coronary artery disease
There is a high chance of death if the patient does not see a doctor immediately. The patient may feel tired easily, have chest pain in the middle of the chest, become more frequent, and more severe even when not exercising. There may also be symptoms of palpitations, sweating, and difficulty breathing. When there is acute myocardial ischemia, it can cause death or disability, depending on the severity. And how long the heart muscle is deprived of blood supply. Therefore, the patient must be rushed to see a doctor as soon as possible, or at the latest within 6-12 hours. After the patient first starts having symptoms, in order to open the narrowed coronary artery. By giving blood clot dissolving drugs or performing balloon angioplasty.
Chronic coronary artery disease
It will be gradual and come and go. Symptoms are often related to exercise, such as walking, exercising, or climbing stairs. There may be a feeling of tightness in the center of the chest, but the symptoms will go away when sitting down and resting. Sometimes, there may be pain radiating from the left shoulder up to the jaw. If these symptoms occur, you must see a doctor immediately.
Treatment of coronary artery disease
In mild cases, the main treatment is lifestyle changes along with medication. Once you have this disease, you must take medication for the rest of your life to prevent further fat buildup, along with diet control and exercise.
In cases where the symptoms are severe, i.e., the blood vessels are severely narrowed, causing the heart to contract less, the patient must undergo cardiac catheterization to expand the blood vessels with a balloon. Cardiac catheterization is the injection of a contrast material to look at the path of the coronary arteries to help the doctor assess whether the blood vessels supplying the coronary muscle are narrowed or blocked, how strong the heart muscle is, and how well the heart valves open and close. It can also measure the pressure inside the heart and other parts of the heart. There are 2 methods to do this: cardiac catheterization through the groin (Femoral Artery) and cardiac catheterization through the wrist (Radial Artery). Each method depends on the expertise and skill of the doctor.