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Treatments for Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease, is usually caused by atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a buildup of plaque and fatty material in the arteries. In coronary heart disease (CHD), the vessels that carry oxygen and blood to the heart are narrowed. Depending on the severity and symptoms of CHD, treatments can vary. Together with your physician, you can decide which treatment is best for you and your condition.

  1. Medications

    • To improve blood flow and help prevent disease progression, your physician may prescribe medication. There are a number of medications prescribed for coronary heart disease. You may have more than one prescription, since the medications have different uses.

      The most common medications prescribed are aspirin, beta-blockers, nitroglycerin, cholesterol-lowering medications, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and calcium channel blockers. Aspirin thins the blood, reducing the chance of a blood clot. Beta-blockers lower blood pressure by relaxing the heart. Nitroglycerin reduces chest pain by opening blood vessels. Cholesterol-lowering medications, such as statins, reduce cholesterol in the blood. ACE inhibitors lower blood pressure. Calcium channel blockers help open up coronary arteries. Your physician may also recommend vitamins.

    Lifestyle Changes

    • Making some changes in your lifestyle can help prevent or slow coronary heart disease. An exercise or activity routine is recommended. Your physician can help you decide what type of activity is right for your current fitness and health level. According to the Mayo Clinic, smoking and tobacco use is a leading cause of coronary artery disease. Your physician will recommend that you cease smoking and tobacco use. In addition, changes in your diet will help with this disease. Balanced nutrition and decreased sodium intake help reduce blood pressure.

    Surgical Procedures

    • You may choose to undergo a surgical procedure if other treatments are not successful. Catheterization is a common procedure where a catheter is threaded through an artery in your leg and to the heart. Another common surgical procedure is angioplasty. During an angioplasty, a balloon on the tip of a catheter is inflated in the artery, thereby widening the artery. While the artery is widened, the surgeon will often insert a stent, which is a wire tube, to keep the artery open after the catheter is removed.

      Some more intense procedures are radiation brachytherapy and bypass surgery. In radiation brachytherapy, the artery is exposed to radiation while open during angioplasty. In bypass surgery, the blocked arteries are bypassed using a graft of an artery from another part of the body.

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