Coronary Heart Disease – Treatment

If you are diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD), often called coronary artery disease (CAD), you will have several treatments available to you. These will depend on your personal beliefs about conventional versus alternative medicine, and on the conclusions you reach with your health care provider. The treatments presented here may or may not be right for you, so please seek advice from a professional.

Main Symptom of Coronary Heart Disease

Any treatment of coronary heart disease must address the main symptom of that disease: ischemia.

Ischemia may be defined, in layman’s terms, as a condition in which one area of the body is not getting enough oxygen-rich blood due to blockage of blood vessels leading into that area.

In treating coronary heart disease, action must be taken that will increase the blood supply to affected areas.

Conventional Treatments for Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease can be treated by the patient in its early stages. In fact, you can do much more than your doctor can to reduce the risks. Here are a few things you can do at home.

* Change to a diet that is conducive to a healthy heart. Reduce fat intake to less than 25% of your total calories each day. To reduce cholesterol levels in coronary heart disease, be careful of what kinds of fat you use. Increase fiber intake. Your health care provider can advise you on the proper way of eating.

* Establish a regular, daily exercise program to strengthen your heart. Exercise will also lower blood pressure, making blood vessels less constricted. Check with your doctor before beginning any kind of exercise program for treatment of coronary heart disease.

* Stop smoking if you have coronary heart disease. If you find it difficult to do this on your own, ask your doctor for help.

* Take a small, regimen aspirin every day. These are sometimes called “baby aspirin” and can help those with coronary heart disease reduce the possibility of a heart attack.

* Reduce alcohol intake for further lowering of cholesterol. Men with coronary heart disease should limit alcohol to 2 drinks per day. Women should limit intake to one drink per day.

In future articles, we will discuss intervention through prescription medications and surgery, as well as alternative approaches to the treatment of coronary heart disease.

The author of these articles is not a health care professional, and shares this research on coronary heart disease for educational purposes only. Please do not rely on this information without checking it with a licensed professional.