- Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for 17.9 million deaths per year, although the figure is constantly increasing.
- One of the most common pathologies of the heart is Coronary Artery Disease.
- Every September 29, World Heart Day is commemorated.
The heart is one of the organs that requires greater care due to the different pathologies to which it is exposed. One of them is the Coronary artery diseasewhich is produced by the deposit of fatty components inside the arteries, made up of cholesterol, calcium and other substances found in the blood.
As it progresses, less blood flows through the arteries. As a result, the heart muscle cannot receive the blood or oxygen it needs, which can lead to symptoms ranging from chest pain and shortness of breath to a heart attack.
Given this, Claudio CamposDirector of Cardiovascular Care for Siemens Healthineers for Latin America, explains in four brief points everything you need to know about this condition.
1. What is the role of coronary calcium in this disease?
The amount of coronary calcium indicates how extensive the plaque is, also known as atherosclerosis. However, the increase in these plaques can cause the event of a heart attack in the patient, since prevents proper blood flow to the heart muscle.
2. What is the impact of Coronary Artery Disease?
It is one of the multiple cardiovascular diseases and the main cause of death in the world that, according to records of the World Health Organization (WHO), claims the lives of 8.9 million people annually. While in the case of Mexico, in 2019 alone it was responsible for 116,237 deaths.
3. What are the signs of a heart attack?
It is essential that people know the signs of a heart attack since proper care and treatment can prevent serious consequences and save lives.
Every second counts and it is necessary to know how to react to the signs that, in the case of men, are chest pain, shortness of breath; tingling in the arms, back, neck, shoulders, or jaw; while, in the case of women, burning sensation in the heart, unusual tiredness, sudden dizziness, nausea or vomiting, and cold sweat. In any of these cases, it is necessary to receive immediate medical attention and review.
4. What are the main procedures to diagnose a heart attack?
Regarding the diagnosis of this pathology, there are various procedures that the patient can access. In the first instance is the laboratory blood test -High-sensitivity cardiac troponin- which has very sensitive indicators and is capable of detecting the lowest levels of troponin and minor changes in its levels, in a patient, which can be an early indicator of AMI -Acute Myocardial Infarction Myocardium-. The test provides fast, accurate and actionable results that allow clinicians to safely discover and exclude myocardial infarction when examining patients with chest pain.
Similarly, there is the CT coronary angiography (computed tomography) non-invasive that can detect any narrowing of the vessels and is generally used when coronary artery disease is suspected but the patient has not had an acute myocardial infarction or to monitor the evolution of the disease.
Recently, with the launch of tomography with photon counting it is possible to more accurately diagnose more groups of patientsparticularly those with very high calcification.
On the other hand, the Doppler echocardiography is the most widely used non-invasive diagnostic method in cardiology after the electrocardiogram. It is based on the emission and reception of ultrasound. It has no risk for the patient and can help rule out and prevent recurrent embolism.
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