Cardiovascular
Interventions
For secondary and tertiary prevention
purposes, heart medication and sometimes heart
surgery is necessary. The below information, as
with all topics in this course, is introductory
in nature. That is, all surgical procedures and
treatments are not listed, but a basic overview
on some of the more common interventions is
provided.
In many cases, tertiary prevention i.e.
surgical procedures must be used to treat heart
disorders. Different procedures are used
depending upon the condition.
Angioplasty
Angioplasty is a procedure used to treat blood
vessels that have accumulated atherosclerotic
plaque.Please read angioplasty information at the
Cardiology Channel, specifically the following
three links: "Overview,"
"Balloon,"
and "Stents"
(R). Travel to the
Worldwide
Initiative for Diabetes Education to read
about coronary artery stenting OR
click on the "View the following series as
an animation" link to see the explanation in
a more dynamic format (R). The University of
Pennsylvania Health System has an online animation describing
angioplasty
(O--highly recommended, short animation).
Healthcentral.com
(O) and
HeartCenter
Online (O--scroll down the page to
"Illustrations") offer
animations and audio description of the
angioplasty process .
Open Heart and Coronary Bypass Surgeries
A type of open heart surgery is the coronary
bypass procedure. In coronary bypass surgery, a
blood vessel from another site of the body (often
from the chest or the leg) is attached within the
heart, in order to replace, or "bypass"
the clogged coronary arteries. This procedure is
explained quite well by the
American
Heart Association. (R) To view a short
on-line movie on
open
heart surgery, visit the heart tour once again (O--contains
a graphic video of real open heart surgery).
Healthscout.com provides another opportunity to view an
animation of coronary bypass surgery (O).
Transmyocardial Revascularization
In this procedure, a laser is used to improve
blood flow to those parts of the heart muscle not
receiving an adequate supply. Travel to a
TMR
description at the American Heart Association
(R). PLC Medical Systems, Inc. provides an
animation of
transmyocardial
revascularization (O--highly recommended but
not required). Incidentally, a lesser invasive
form of TMR, called "PMR,"
or percutaneous myocardial revascularization is
another cardiovascular intervention, as
presented from Hall-Garcia Cardiology Associates (O).
Medications
A variety of medications are used to reduce
the likelihood of an acute coronary episode (such
as a heart attack) for those patients at risk.
These medications may help decrease blood
pressure, decrease low density lipoprotein (LDL)
levels in the blood, or serve in other capacities
to improve an individual's heart disease risk.
Choose two (2) of the below
medication examples to learn how they work (R):
In April 2008
Science Daily published an article regarding the latest
research on the two-drug approach for treating hypertension (R).
Educational
Enrichment
Medscape:
The JUPITER Study (you may need to log in; account is
free)
Angioplasty.org
American Heart Association journal report on
automated external defibrillators
The Heart Surgery Forum's Learning Center
describes minimally
invasive cardiac surgery
Heart Health Basics Library
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
provides pharmacological information on statins,
bile
acid resins, nicotinic
acid and hormone
replacement
Healingwell.com
- offers a video learning center on
cardiovascular health
Medline:
Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators
The American Heart Association in 2008 is
advocating for
"Hands Only" CPR: calling 911 and administering chest
compressions for a victim of cardiac arrest
Last Revised: 1-14-10
