what are the investigations and treatments for unstable angina?
investigation’s include angiograms(the doctor will put a dye into your veins and get a good view of the damage to your veins or arteries that surround the myocardium(heart) if the damage is severe he will almost certainly attempt to fix the damage by a procedure called angioplasty, this procedure involves the surgeon putting a stent through your femoral artery and up into your heart, the surgeon directs the stent into the damaged artery and then blows it up using bar pressure, the stent opens up like a small straw like tunnel and the blood flows 100% better around the heart preventing further pain or problems, the stent is coated with a drug called heparin(anti coagulant)that stops the blood trying to form a clot on the invading stent.
the procedure is very simple and is normally done whilst you are awake, it has a 99.9% success rate and is painless..
good luck
Posted in angina treatment
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Please see the webpages for more details on Unstable angina.
References :
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000201.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unstable_angina
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/medical_notes/g-i/764020.stm
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:50 pm
investigation’s include angiograms(the doctor will put a dye into your veins and get a good view of the damage to your veins or arteries that surround the myocardium(heart) if the damage is severe he will almost certainly attempt to fix the damage by a procedure called angioplasty, this procedure involves the surgeon putting a stent through your femoral artery and up into your heart, the surgeon directs the stent into the damaged artery and then blows it up using bar pressure, the stent opens up like a small straw like tunnel and the blood flows 100% better around the heart preventing further pain or problems, the stent is coated with a drug called heparin(anti coagulant)that stops the blood trying to form a clot on the invading stent.
the procedure is very simple and is normally done whilst you are awake, it has a 99.9% success rate and is painless..
good luck
References :
June 2nd, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Angina pectoris – is chest pain due to ischemia (a lack of blood and hence oxygen supply) of the heart muscle, generally due to obstruction or spasm of the coronary arteries (the heart’s blood vessels). Coronary artery disease, the main cause of angina, is due to atherosclerosis of the cardiac arteries. The term derives from the Greek ankhon ("strangling") and the Latin pectus ("chest"), and can therefore be translated as "a strangling feeling in the chest".
Investigation and diognasis"
In patients with the occasional angina who are not having chest pain, an electrocardiogram (ECG) is typically normal, unless there have been other cardiac problems in the past. During pain, depression or elevation of the ST segment may be observed. To elicit these changes, an exercise ECG test ("treadmill test") may be performed, during which the patient exercises to their maximum ability before fatigue, breathless or, importantly, pain supervenes; if characteristic ECG changes are documented (typically more than 1mm of flat or downsloping ST depression), the test is considered diagnostic for angina. The exercise test is also useful in looking for other markers of mocardial ischaemia: blood pressure response (or lack thereof, particularly a drop in systolic pressure), dysrhythmia and chronotropic response. Other alternatives to a standard exercise test include a thallium scintigram (in patients that cannot exercise enough for the purposes of the treadmill tests, e.g., due to asthma or arthritis or in whom the ECG is too abnormal at rest) or Stress Echocardiography.
In patients in whom such noninvasive testing is diagnostic, a coronary angiogram is typically performed to identify the nature of the coronary lesion, and whether this would be a candidate for angioplasty, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), treatment only with medication, or other treatments. In patients who are in hospital with unstable angina (or the newer term of "high risk acute coronary syndromes"), those with resting ischaemic ECG changes or those with raised cardiac enzymes such as troponin may undergo coronary angiography directly.
Treatment:
The main goals of treatment in angina pectoris are relief of symptoms, slowing progression of the disease, and reduction of future events, especially heart attacks and of course death. An aspirin (75 mg to 100 mg) per day has been shown to be beneficial for all patients with stable angina that have no problems with its use. Beta-blockers have a large body of evidence in morbidity and mortality benefits (fewer symptoms and disability and live longer) and short-acting nitroglycerin medications are used for symptomatic relief of angina. Calcium channel blockers (such as nifedipine and amlodipine), Isosorbide mononitrate and nicorandil are vasodilators commonly used in chronic stable angina. ACE inhibitors are also vasodilators with both symptomatic and prognostic benefit and lastly, statins are the most frequently used lipid/cholesterol modifiers which probably also stabilise existing atheromatous plaque.
Surprising perhaps is that exercise is also a very good long term treatment for angina[1](but only particular regimes – gentle and sustained exercise rather than dangerous intense short bursts), probably working by complex mechanisms such improving blood pressure and promoting coronary artery collateralisation.
References :