February is National Heart Month, consultant cardiologist Dr Talwar shares tips on how to care for your heart and prevent heart disease
Currently over 2.3 million people in the UK are living with coronary heart disease. Having a heart condition can affect all areas of life, including work, family, driving and even simple daily tasks such as getting dressed.
Coronary heart disease occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked or reduced by a build-up of fatty material inside the coronary arteries. When these arteries start to become narrow or block sufficient blood flow cannot get to the heart. This can result in a heart attack.
The main symptom of coronary heart disease is increasing chest pain or shortness of breath on exertion. The chest pain very often feels like a pressure or tightness across the chest, sometimes radiating to the arms or up the throat. These symptoms tend to get worse on exertion and improve with rest. Any new symptoms of chest pain or increasing breathlessness should not be ignored.
Traditional risk factors for coronary heart disease include a high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, family history of coronary heart disease, and being overweight. In addition, the risk of coronary heart disease increases with age, and men are generally at greater risk of coronary heart disease than women.
Coronary heart disease cannot be cured, but treatment can manage the symptoms and reduce the risk of additional problems such as a heart attack. The most important treatment includes lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise and stopping smoking. Those who have chest pain on exertion (angina) can often benefit from medication such as beta-blockers to improve symptoms and additional drug therapy such as aspirin and statins may be recommended.
If symptoms do not settle with medication, treatments such as coronary stenting or bypass surgery may be considered. For severe blockages, a coronary stent is used. This a small expandable metal mesh which is deployed in the narrow part of the coronary artery to open the blockage.
There have been huge advances in coronary stenting over the last decade. Newer stents with drug coatings prevent future problems. There have also been great developments in imaging of coronary arteries to ensure that stents are well-deployed.
Coronary artery bypass surgery redirects blood around a section of a blocked artery using either veins or arteries taken from elsewhere and is often used in those who have multi-vessel coronary artery disease or diabetes.
How to look after your heart:
- Be more active: A combination of cardiovascular exercise and light weights exercise to increase muscle tone, strength, and endurance
- Quit smoking: Smoking damages the lining of the arteries, causes inflammation, and makes the blood more prone to clotting
- Healthy diet: Consuming a healthy balanced diet can help lower cholesterol
- Drop the weight: Get weight down to a healthy level, a lower weight reduces the risk of diabetes, heart attacks and strokes
- Check your stats: Ensure blood pressure is checked regularly and is under control, and have your cholesterol levels checked by a GP if risk factors for heart disease exist
Meet the consultant: Dr Talwar is a cardiac consultant at Nuffield Health Bournemouth, specialising in coronary angioplasty, stenting, and complex coronary intervention. He hosts clinics on Tuesdays from 2pm, Fridays from 11am and performs angiograms and stenting on a Wednesday morning. To book an appointment call 01202 702830.
