Of late, chronic cardiovascular diseases have emerged as the biggest threat to the world population. According to a study, coronary heart disease will be one of the major causes of death by 2020. Although the prevalence and mortality due to this disease, is declining in developed countries, there is an alarming increase in the prevalence of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular mortality in India and other South Asian nations.
The increasing burden of such diseases in South Asian countries can be explained by a sudden hike in the prevalence of modifiable coronary risk factors, such as, smoking, diabetes, central obesity, hypertension, inability to control diet, and physical inactivity.
Thickening of artery walls as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials, such as, cholesterol affect arterial blood vessels. This is known as 'atherosclerosis'. It blocks the arterial blood vessels and creates multiple complications, resulting in heart attacks.
In most of these cases, patients experience severe chest pain. Also, stomach pain, backache, respiratory trouble and stress are other syndromes of this disease. Anyone belonging to the age group of 35-65 years can be detected with the pre-mature coronary heart disease. However, we can always reduce the chance of acquiring coronary heart diseases by checking the modifiable factors. For instance, 80 per cent of the people who die from heart ailments, are smokers. Most of them are below 45 years of age. Smoking raises the level of bad cholesterol, or LDL, and lowers the good cholesterol, or HDL level, in blood. High blood pressure is another risk factor. It makes big arteries lose their flexibility thereby affecting the circulation of blood.
Diabetes, often known as the "silent killer", is another such factor. As many as 50 people suffering from diabetes, out of 100, succumb to heart diseases. In today's world, obesity has become a serious health hazard. It makes people vulnerable to heart diseases.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of the reliable clinical measures of obesity. The ideal BMI should remain under 25.
Mental stress, leading to hypertension, can be fatal for heart patients. Chronic anxiety causes secretion of cortisol hormone, which, in turn reduces the resistance power of the human body. Lack of physical exercise also contributes to heart ailments. Thus, it can be said that drastic lifestyle changes have exposed more and more people to coronary heart problems.
Heart attack is the biggest risk of coronary heart diseases. It can cause instant death. In case of such an attack, blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. If left untreated for a sufficient period of time, it can cause permanent damage or death of heart muscle tissues.
Prevention, as always, is better than cure. If the above-stated syndromes, especially chest pain and sweating, occur, Sorbitrate (5 mg) should be put under the patient’s tongue. Before taking the patient to hospital, s/he should also be given half a tablet of Aspirin.
 A chest x-ray and an ECG must be conducted then; the ECG report would confirm the news of a heart attack. Besides, echo-cardiogram, TMT and coronary angiogram are also conducted, if necessary. Thrombolysis is one of the immediate treatments for stroke and heart attack. It breaks down blood clots by pharmacological means.
The second line of treatment is angioplasty. Primary angioplasty is the angioplasty done as a life-saving emergency procedure on a patient. Before going with this operation, coronary angiogram is done to detect the heart blockage. In primary angioplasty, a balloon is used to clear blockages in the coronary arteries, thereby restoring the flow of blood to the heart. Insertion of metal scaffolding, known as a stent, is done here, to recoil and reduce the probability of a re-blockage.
Primary angioplasty should be done within three to six hours of an attack. Otherwise, it may not be fully effective. In fact, it should not be tried after more than 11 hours of a heart attack. One of the major benefits of this method is that it enables the patient to return to normal life within a short period of time. This surgery can be done at any age.
Another line of treatment is bypass surgery. It is done in case of multi-vessel diseases. In most cases, this operation is done to cure left artery disease. Arteries or veins from elsewhere in the patient’s body are grafted to the coronary arteries, to bypass atherosclerotic narrowing and improve blood supply to the coronary circulation supplying the heart muscles. Compared to angioplasty, it is a complex and time-consuming surgical process. Such surgeries reduce the possibility of cardiovascular events, and give a new lease of life to heart patients.
However, heart ailments can be avoided by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Healthy diet is of paramount importance in this regard. Junk food
must be avoided. Five pieces of fruit, a day, have been suggested by the British Heart Foundation. Physical exercise is also important. One is strongly advised to walk an hour each day to keep fit.
Salt intake should be minimised, to control heart diseases. One should quit smoking. Also, one must take dinner four hours, before s/he goes to bed.
With the fantastic advancements in medical science, people can now lead normal lives, even if they have coronary heart ailments.
They have however, to follow the guidelines mentioned by physicians. More than any extraordinary precaution, a little common sense, and simple lifestyle, can add valuable years to your life-cycle. (Reprint)