Treatment Options
Eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly,
not smoking, and other healthy lifestyle choices can improve
your heart’s health. Some women also may need to take
the following medications to prevent or treat CVD.
- Aspirin helps prevent heart attacks when taken regularly
in a low dose with your physician’s approval.
- Digitalis makes the heart contract harder. It’s
used when the heart’s pumping function has been
weakened, as well as to slow quick heart rhythms.
- Diuretics cause the kidneys to excrete more water and
salts than normal, thereby reducing blood volume and lowering
blood pressure.
- Beta-blockers lower blood pressure by reducing the force
with which the heart pumps. These drugs block the action
of substances that increase heart rate and blood pressure.
Beta-blockers also are used to treat chest pain and to
prevent a second heart attack.
- ACE inhibitors are used to lower blood pressure after
a heart attack when the heart muscle has been damaged.
They’re also often used for patients who have diabetes.
ACE inhibitors work by halting the production of a chemical
that causes blood vessels to narrow.
- Calcium channel blockers are used to lower blood pressure
and to treat chest pain. Beta-blockers and diuretics are
often used first for high blood pressure, while calcium
channel blockers may be used if these are not effective,
are not well tolerated, or are contraindicated. It’s
important not to drink grapefruit juice for at least 4
hours after taking a calcium channel blocker. According
to the American Heart Association, recent studies show
that there is a compound in grapefruit juice that appears
to interfere with the liver’s ability to clear certain
drugs from the body.
- Nitrates (including nitroglycerine) relax blood vessels
and reduce chest pain.
- Common blood cholesterol-lowering agents are often prescribed,
including statins (HMG CoA reductase inhibitors), bile
acid sequestrants, fibric acid derivatives, and nicotinic
acid (niacin).
Women and Statins
The benefits of using statins to lower cholesterol levels
in women are dramatic. In a 1996 study involving 4,200 heart-attack
survivors, Boston researchers found that giving pravastatin
(a statin) lowered the risk for another heart attack by
20 percent in men and 46 percent in women.
Medication Alert
Because all drugs prescribed to prevent or treat heart
disease have side effects, it’s important to know
as much as possible before taking them. Make a list of the
medications you’re taking, including over-the-counter
medications and supplements, before visiting your physician.
This list can help your doctor prescribe medications that
you can take safely without dangerous drug interactions.
In addition, never stop taking any heart medication without
first consulting your physician.
When Surgery is Necessary
Women with advanced CVD may need to undergo surgery to
open an artery and improve circulation. These procedures
can reduce severe chest pain and clear blockages in the
blood vessels:
- Coronary angioplasty (also known as "balloon"
angioplasty). A surgeon inserts a thin tube through an
artery to the narrowed heart vessel and inflates a small
balloon at its tip. The balloon flattens the buildup and
lengthens the artery to increase blood flow. The balloon
is then deflated and removed, along with the tube.
- Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (also known as
"bypass surgery"). Surgeons take a section of
a blood vessel from the leg or chest and stitch it onto
the narrowed heart artery, creating a bypass around the
blockage. In some cases, more than one bypass is necessary.
Bypass surgery is often chosen when the blockages are
hard to reach or are too long or hard for angioplasty.
A person who undergoes bypass surgery usually stays in
the hospital about 1 week and requires several weeks of
recuperation at home.
References
- “Treatment
of High Blood Pressure,” National Heart, Lung
and Blood Institute (NHLBI), 2002.
- “Heart
Disease and Medications,” NHLBI, 2002.
- “Statin
Drugs Lower Heart Disease Risk in Postmenopausal Women,”
American Heart Association, June 4, 2002.
- “Heart
Disease and Medications,” NHLBI, 2002.
- “Special
Procedures,” NHLBI, 2002.
Source of Material: RockHill Communications, 14
Rock Hill Road Bala, Cynwyd, PA 19004, (610) 667-2040, http://www.RockHillCommunications.com
Writer: Christine Norris
Editors: Andrea King, Joanne Poeggel, Erin Murphy, Ron
Wozny
Clinical Reviewer: Patt Panzer, M.D.
Date Written: 3/1/01
Last Reviewed & Updated: 5/31/2003 |
