Olexander BABLYAK, head of the Cardiac Surgery Center of the DOBROBUT Medical Network, Doctor of Medical Sciences
Every second heart operation in the world is a coronary bypass operation to treat patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Thanks to the minimally invasive technique developed by our team, 99% of such interventions can be performed without a sternum incision.
Why is it dangerous?
Ischemic heart disease is a violation of the blood supply to the myocardium, as a result of which the cells of the heart muscle receive insufficient or no oxygen at all. Blood flow in the heart muscle is disturbed due to damage to the narrowing or even complete blockage of the arteries of the heart. Atherosclerotic plaques that "settle down" on the vessel walls are usually to blame for this. Even one narrowing in one vessel can lead to a severe heart attack.
How to prevent a heart attack?
In fact, everything is simple: regular visits to a cardiologist plus the ability to hear the body's signals.
A proper check-up is an ultrasound of the heart, an electrocardiogram, a stress test (on a treadmill or a bicycle), a blood lipid profile to control dyslipidemia (disorders of fat metabolism), and a blood test for glycated hemoglobin. Examination must be done every two years at the age of 35+ and every year at the age of 55+.
The key in this list for detecting CHD is the lipid profile, which shows the risk of atherosclerotic plaque formation and the stress test (provides an opportunity to check the heart during exercise). If the stress test reveals a problem, the cardiologist refers the patient to coronary ventriculography (selective coronary angiography), an invasive study of the coronary arteries that confirms or refutes the diagnosis of coronary heart disease.
Important point: in Ukraine, unfortunately, such a diagnosis is often misused and given without justification. How is it dangerous? The fact that many are not even alarmed by the abbreviation CHD. And behind such frivolity, it is easy to miss a truly threatening condition. If you or someone in your family has been diagnosed with coronary heart disease, keep in mind: everything is serious and needs to be confirmed.
How to avoid serious consequences?
CHD is a curable disease. In the initial stages, the situation can be brought under control: the disease is treated by lifestyle changes (let's not forget that in 80% of cases, the cause of heart problems is an incorrect lifestyle) and drug therapy. If vascular damage is critical, and blood flow is significantly complicated or even stopped, a decision is made on stenting or coronary bypass.
Stenting is a low-traumatic procedure, during which a stent is inserted into a narrowed heart vessel through an artery in the arm or thigh, which expands its lumen when opened. But stenting is often impossible or ineffective. Then open heart surgery comes to the rescue.
Coronary bypass is an operation during which blood is directed to bypass narrowed areas of the arteries with the help of sewn shunts, which are used by the patient's own vessels. And that's it - the blood flow in the myocardium is restored, the heart returns to normal work, the person gets a new quality of life.
What is the uniqueness of the treatment approach at DOBROBUT?
Today, a team of cardiac surgeons led by Oleksandr BABLYAK has developed a method of mini-invasive multivessel coronary bypass surgery. For the intervention, it is no longer necessary to make a classic 25-centimeter incision in the sternum. A cut of 5 cm between the ribs is enough. As a result, immediately after resuscitation, patients stop feeling seriously ill, actively recover and go home in 4-5 days. In two weeks, doctors already allow them to go to work for half a day, in a month there are practically no restrictions.
Risk factors for the development of coronary heart disease
- Age 40+
- Gender: men have a higher risk of getting the disease
- Heredity (cardiovascular diseases in relatives)
- Smoking (a 40-year-old person who smokes and a 60-year-old person who does not have this bad habit have the same level of risk)
- Improper nutrition (eating food that contains a lot of trans fats and/or has undergone intensive thermal processing)
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes mellitus
- Adiposity
- Sedentary lifestyle (leads to cardiovascular diseases in 30% of cases)
- Stress
- Chronic inflammatory processes: sore teeth, nail fungus, etc.
Be careful!
Symptoms of coronary heart disease are often disguised as other diseases. But there is a formula that clearly indicates problems in the heart: the connection of malaise with physical exertion. If during exercise there is any discomfort or pain that goes away at rest, you should consult a cardiologist. Coronary heart disease (CHD) can manifest itself with arrhythmia, shortness of breath, as well as burning pain in the chest, or pain that squeezes or, on the contrary, expands.
At the same time, a heart attack is not necessarily pain, and if there is pain, it is not necessarily in the chest. Before the attack, the ear may hurt. Or the neck. Or teeth or heels while walking. And, for example, only weakness and chills can be disturbing. By the way, frequent manifestations of a heart attack are nausea and vomiting. However, in any case, there is a connection with physical activity. And this is the main clue.
If you experience similar symptoms, consult a cardiologist of the "Dobrobut" medical network.
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