Ischaemic Heart Disease

Ischaemic Heart Disease is defined as an episodic disease resulting in a temporary stoppage of blood in the coronary arteries and ischaemia of the heart muscle. A distinction should be made between myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction. Ischemia means that the amount of oxygen supplied to the tissue is inadequate to supply the needs of the tissue.When the myocardium becomes ischemic, it does not function optimally. When large areas of the myocardium becomes ischemic, there can be impairment in the relaxation and contraction of the myocardium. The symptoms commonly associated with a heart attack include: severe chest pain that is not relieved by rest or GTN spray. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, sweating, rapid or an irregular pulse, feeling of nausea or vomiting and clamminess. About one in three people who have a TIA eventually have a stroke, with about half occurring during the year after the can serve as both a warning and an opportunity - a warning of an impending stroke and an opportunity to take steps to prevent it.
Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a term that doctors use to describe patients who have congestive heart failure due to coronary artery disease .While the symptoms and signs of coronary heart disease are noted in the advanced state of disease, most individuals with coronary heart disease show no evidence of disease for decades as the disease progresses before the first onset of symptoms, often a "sudden" heart attack , finally arise.The heart will pump blood around the body less effectively. Scarred heart muscle can also become thin.Very occasionally this scarred area can bulge out during each heartbeat causing an aneurysm. An aneurysm will also reduce the hearts pumping action and efficiency. As the heart is the pump that supplies oxygenated blood to the various vital organs, any defect in the heart immediately affects the supply of oxygen to the vital organs like the brain, kidneys etc. The symptoms of ischemic heart disease are often first noted during times of increased workload of the heart. For instance, the first symptoms include exertional angina or decreased exercise tolerance.
Ischemia (is-KE'me-ah) is a condition in which the blood flow (and thus oxygen) is restricted to a part of the body. After decades of progression, some of these atheromatous plaques may rupture and (along with the activation of the blood clotting system) start limiting blood flow to the heart muscle . While it was originally believed that the growth of atheromatous plaques was a slow, gradual process, some recent evidence suggests that the gradual buildup of plaque may be complemented by small plaque ruptures which cause the sudden increase in the plaque burden due to accumulation of thrombus material. The aneurysm can be removed or resected (aneurysmectomy) as part of a surgical procedure that is usually combined with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). An aneurysmectomy should help improve the hearts pumping function. The artery may go into spasm due to certain reactions to medication, external stress factors, but often the reason is not known.

Causes of Ischaemic Heart Disease

The common Causes of Ischaemic Heart Disease :

• Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a common cause of congestive heart failure.
• Ischemic cardiomyopathy results when the arteries that bring blood and oxygen to the heart are blocked.
• But in contrast to a stroke, which involves a more prolonged lack of blood supply and causes some permanent damage to your brain tissue, a TIA doesn't leave lasting effects to your brain.
• Blood clot traveling to the brain from somewhere else in the body (e.g., heart)
• Patients with this condition may at one time have had a heart attack, angina , or unstable angina .
• Injury to blood vessels
• Underlying medical conditions are other medical conditions that may possibly cause Ischemic heart disease.

Symptoms of Ischaemic Heart Disease

Some are common Symptoms of Ischaemic Heart Disease :

• Sensation of feeling the heart beat ( palpitations )
• Shortness of breath , especially with activity
• Shortness of breath that occurs after lying down for a while
• Fatigue , weakness , faintness
• Chest pain
• Orthopnoea
• Slurred or garbled speech or difficulty understanding others
• Dizziness, loss of balance or loss of coordination
• lack of coordination
• falling (caused by weakness in the legs)
• cough
• decreased alertness or concentration

Treatment of Ischaemic Heart Disease

Here is the list of the methods for treating Ischaemic Heart Disease :

• These treatments can improve blood flow to the damaged or weakened heart muscle.
• If you smoke or drink alcohol excessively, stop doing so, because these habits increase the stress on the heart.
• Patients with this disorder usually will have a cardiac catheterization performed to see if they are candidates for bypass surgery or angioplasty ("balloon procedure").
• A heart transplant may be recommended for patients who have failed all the standard treatments and still have very severe symptoms.
• These medications make your platelets, one of the circulating blood cell types, less likely to stick together.
• Depending on a patient's medical history and the results of a medical examination, the doctor may recommend drug therapy or surgery to reduce the risk of stroke in people who have had a TIA.
• Aspirin is the most commonly used medication; others include dipyridamole, clopidogrel, Aggrenox or heparin, coumadin, or other similar medications.
• Surgery ( carotid endarterectomy , removal of atherosclerotic plaque from the carotid arteries in the neck) may be appropriate for some people, particularly those with carotid artery stenosis of greater than 70% of the artery and without coexisting terminal disease or dementia .