Behavior Modification: The typical starting
point, especially for early disease, this can entail many different areas
of change. Those most commonly targeted are diet, exercise, smoking
cessation, and stress reduction.
Medication: This can be as basic as a daily dose of aspirin,
but might also include vitamin therapy, and/or medications to control cholesterol,
triglycerides, blood pressure, and heart rate. In particular, the
new class of drugs called “statins” has proven so effective at controlling
cholesterol levels without harsh side-effects that they have been referred
to the “most under-prescribed medicine in the world.”
Angioplasty: Already discussed, this procedure involves
the insertion of a balloon-tipped catheter which expands the stenotic area
and immediately improves blood flow to the affected area of muscle.
Often accompanied by the placement of a stent.
Atherectomy: Similar to an angioplasty, this procedure
differs in that arterial plaque is actually removed by a rotating cylindrical
blade.
Arterial By-Pass: Surgical procedure; for more severe disease.
This process restores healthy blood flow by adding additional vessels to
the heart, and by-passing the diseased ones. The transplanted vessels
are usually harvested from the leg, or chest.
TMR: This process, Trans Myocardial Revascularization,
is relatively new. It consists of perforating the affected cardiac
tissue (myocardium) with a small laser. Blood is then able to permeate
the tissue more effectively.
Transplantation: If the myocardium is damaged to the extent
that restoring healthy blood flow will not improve the patient’s prognosis,
the actual replacement of the heart becomes the best alternative.
No longer a rarity, transplant patients can go on to long, active lives.
Non-standard (alternative) medical treatments for coronary artery
disease (CAD) include:
Chelation: This therapy involves the infusion
of a material into the bloodstream that supposedly binds to plaque, and
removes it. Mainstream medicine cites the lack of scientific evidence
for this, but in general, most patients seem pleased with their results.
EECP: (Enhanced External Counter Pulsation)
This program utilizes a special type of pressure pants, like test pilots
wear (called a G-Suit). By inflating the pants in a strong pulsating
fashion, the counterpressure to the blood flow is believed to stimulate
the growth of new arteries, called collaterals. This is, in theory,
a type of natural arterial by-pass. It reportedly may help,
over time, to relieve angina.
