Heart Attack Can Now Be Detected & Controlled Easily By Modern Technology

Prevalence of heart diseases is increasing and so is mortality associated with it. It is a matter of grave concern that the younger generation is getting affected by it at a very early age. Rapid urbanization and faulty lifestyle are the leading causes of this deadly disease.

The quote “prevention is better than cure” is very apt for this disease. Once you are trapped into the claws of this problem, quality of life rapidly goes down though different modalities of treatment are available but life is never the same again. But with the advancement of technology & skills of doctors 98% of heart attack victims can be saved if the blocked artery is opened quickly by angioplasty. Interestingly majority of causative factors of heart disease (nearly 80%) are modifiable and small changes in life style can go a long way in preventing heart disease.

You simply cannot avoid or modify risk factors in 20% of cases. Risk factors which are under your control, constitute 80% and these are high blood pressure, blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, lack of physical activity, diabetes (uncontrolled). These factors if controlled along with modification in eating habits, regular exercise & health checkup will lessen the risk of developing heart disease.

Some Risk Factor Can Be Modified Others Cannot Be Modified:

Certain predisposing factors like sex (males have higher incidence of heart disease), genetic predisposition and family history of CAD are non-modifiable factors but they contribute only 20%. In presence of these non-modifiable factors, one needs to be more cautious to avoid CAD. As the Indian population is prone to have heart disease and in more severe form due to smaller diameter of heart vessels (coronaries), it becomes absolutely essential to identify your risk factors and if at high risk then start monitoring your cardiac parameters early in life.

Symptoms of heart disease range from chest pain, pain in shoulder, jaw, choking, breathlessness on exertion or chest discomfort after meal food.

If you have any of these symptoms then do not ignore.

You can become a victim of angina or heart attack, contact your doctor immediately.

Besides the above symptoms, if you have High BP, high cholesterol, high sugar or if someone in your family has had heart disease earlier, then you can call our helpline no 15106 to call ambulance and you can also book an appointment with a heart specialist.

Earlier we used to depend upon ECG, ECHO, TMT, Stress Thallium, Stress ECHO tests for the detection of heart disease. We have seen many patients who had heart disease but were missed on all these tests because accuracy of these tests to identify blockage is <85% and moreover these tests cannot detect <70% cholesterol block in the arteries of heart. However these tests are still important to know the condition of the heart muscle.

In the past the only method to be sure about the future risk of angina or heart attack in an individual was coronary angiography which is an invasive procedure and an individual without any problem would not like to get an invasive test done on him for assessment of future risk. That is why patients with heart disease always present at an advanced stage of the disease which requires either angioplasty or bypass surgery.

Who Needs CT Angiography?

• Chest pain of unknown origin.
• If you have diabetes or high blood pressure for many years and you are above the age of 50.
• If you have chest pain and nonspecific changes in ECG.
• If you already had angioplasty or bypass surgery and now having chest pain.
• To rule out heart disease before major surgery if there is a possibility clinically.
• If you have heart disease in your family.

Best And Noninvasive Test To Know About Your Risk Of Heart Attack Is CT Coronary Angiography.

With the availability of fast & Multislice C.T Scanner with advanced software for detection of heart blockage, it has become possible to detect or rule out the presence of even minor cholesterol deposition in the arteries of the heart. If detected, then it is much easier to motivate patients to control their risk factors, change their lifestyle and take preventive medicines like Statin which can prevent angina, heart attack & future need of Angioplasty & CABG. So far in the last few years, we have diagnosed many patients of heart disease with critical silent blocks on routine screening before non-cardiac surgeries and during routine heart checkups. Therefore appropriate treatment could be provided well in time to keep them safe.

It is non-invasive, OPD procedure & especially indicated when a young patient presents in emergency with chest pain to rule out established heart disease especially if ECG & ECHO are normal. If you want to be sure about the risk of heart attack, this is the best test available in the world. The only requirement is a normal serum creatinine level and a stable and regular heart rhythm.