Coronary Artery Disease-Treatment Overview
Coronary Artery Disease-Treatment Overview
Treatment focuses on lowering your risk for heart attack and stroke and managing your symptoms. Lifestyle changes, medicine, and procedures are used.
Lifestyle changes are the first step for anyone with coronary artery disease. Healthy habits can slow or even stop the disease and improve the quality and length of your life. These habits include:
A cardiac rehabilitation program can help you make these changes.
It's also important to manage any health problems you have. If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, be sure you're doing everything you can to keep these conditions under control.
To learn what you can do, see Living With Heart Disease.
You will probably have to take several medicines that lower your risk of a heart attack. These include:
To manage symptoms, you might take an angina medicine, such as nitroglycerin.
If your angina symptoms get worse even though you are taking medicines, you may think about having a procedure to improve blood flow to your heart. These include angioplasty with or without stenting and bypass surgery.
Lifestyle changes
Lifestyle changes are the first step for anyone with coronary artery disease. Healthy habits can slow or even stop the disease and improve the quality and length of your life. These habits include:
- Quitting smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke.
- Interactive Tool: Are You Ready to Quit Smoking?
- Eating a heart-healthy diet.
- Getting regular exercise.
- Getting to and staying at a healthy weight.
- Weight Management
- Keeping a healthy mental attitude.
A cardiac rehabilitation program can help you make these changes.
It's also important to manage any health problems you have. If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, be sure you're doing everything you can to keep these conditions under control.
To learn what you can do, see Living With Heart Disease.
One Man's Story: Alan, 73 "I've had to work at keeping my weight under control, and that has really helped my cholesterol. When you have heart disease, you learn to eat better for the rest of your life. And if you don't, you're asking for trouble."-Alan Read more about Alan and the lessons he's learned about diet and exercise. |
Medicines
You will probably have to take several medicines that lower your risk of a heart attack. These include:
- Aspirin or other antiplatelets to help prevent blood clots.
- An ACE inhibitor or a beta-blocker to help lower blood pressure and reduce the workload on your heart.
- A statin to help lower cholesterol.
To manage symptoms, you might take an angina medicine, such as nitroglycerin.
Procedures
If your angina symptoms get worse even though you are taking medicines, you may think about having a procedure to improve blood flow to your heart. These include angioplasty with or without stenting and bypass surgery.
- Heart Disease: Should I Have Angioplasty for Stable Angina?
- Heart Disease: Should I Have Bypass Surgery?