Table of contents:
- Can heart disease be cured?
- Control the symptoms of heart disease
- Tips to prevent heart disease from an early age
- 1. Stop smoking
- 2. Apply a healthy lifestyle
The heart is a vital organ that functions to pump blood throughout the body. Various heart health problems that can occur can interfere with its function, such as heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias) or narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis). So, if someone is diagnosed with heart disease (cardiovascular), can he be cured?
Can heart disease be cured?
Heart disease is one of the most common causes of death, apart from cancer. This disease not only attacks the heart, but also the vessels and muscles around it.
Unfortunately, cardiovascular disease cannot be cured. That means, someone who is diagnosed with this disease, will continue to have this disease throughout life. Even so, researchers continue to carry out further research to find answers to whether heart disease can be cured or not.
Reporting from the Cleveland Clinic website, recently a study is developing stem cell therapy to cure heart disease.
In this therapy, the cells in the damaged heart will be stimulated to regenerate (recovery from damage). The trick is to reduce cell damage by releasing local hormones.
It's just that, the tissue that has been repaired is not completely getting better, it becomes a burden on the heart. The work of the heart will be heavier and this can increase the risk of heart failure, as a complication of heart disease due to disruption of electrical activity in the heart.
In addition, new drugs are being developed to lower cholesterol levels. However, no drug has yet been successful in removing the plaques that form along the arteries.
Control the symptoms of heart disease
Although the answer to whether heart disease can be cured or not is still "gray" or not clear, the good news is that this disease can be controlled. That is, patients with this disease can relieve symptoms as well as prevent its severity.
Symptoms of heart disease which include shortness of breath and chest pain can be relieved by taking various medications, such as:
- Anticogulant drugs (reducing blood clotting), such as warfarin and heparin.
- Antiplatelet agent drugs (prevents platelets from sticking together and clumping together), such as clopidogrel.
- Beta-blocker drugs (lower blood pressure and slow heart rate), such as bisoprolol.
- Cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as simvastatin.
Apart from taking medication for heart disease, there are also various medical procedures available to reduce the severity of symptoms, including:
- Angioplasty
A procedure to expand the area of narrowed blood vessels by placing a catheter with a balloon or laser tip.
- Atherectomy
Placing a catheter with the tip of a cutting tool to cut the plaque that is clogging the artery.
- Heart bypass surgery
Open-heart surgery to clear blocked arteries by creating new channels to allow blood to flow to the heart muscle.
- Heart stents
Placement of a wire tube (heart ring) to open the artery during angioplasty or permanently.
- Heart transplant
The removal of the damaged heart and replace it with another healthy human heart as a result of the donation.
So, instead of worrying about whether or not heart disease will go away, it would be better for patients to focus on following treatment. Too busy thinking about illness, it is feared that it can make patients more stressed. This can cause blood pressure to rise, insomnia, and ultimately worsen the disease.
Try to increase your positive thoughts and know ways that will work for you to reduce stress, such as embroidering, gardening, or reading a book.
In addition, the treatment of heart disease also needs to be perfected by living a healthier lifestyle. This includes adopting a heart diet, quitting smoking, and being diligent in doing heart-safe exercise.
After understanding the explanation above, patients no longer need to question whether heart disease can be cured or not.
Currently, the most important thing that becomes the top priority for heart disease patients is to maintain maximum body health. Follow the remedies and home treatments recommended by the specialist who treats your condition.
That way, not only the symptoms of cardiovascular disease that you can overcome, various common ailments such as flu, coughs, and colds can also be avoided.
Tips to prevent heart disease from an early age
Besides being able to manage the symptoms, it turns out that you can also avoid heart disease. Of course, this is much better than you cure, right?
Dr. Jim Fang and Dr. Tom Miller of the University of Utah Health Science Radio explained various ways to prevent heart disease in his interview, including:
1. Stop smoking
Smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This bad habit is known to worsen the health of arteries in the heart because they contain various damaging substances, such as nicotine and tar.
2. Apply a healthy lifestyle
A person who has diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), and high cholesterol levels has a high risk of developing heart disease. The reason is, hypertension makes the arteries stiffer and puts great pressure on the heart.
Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to damage to arteries. Then, high cholesterol levels can also form plaque in the arteries. The presence of plaque is the most common cause of heart disease.
If you already have one of these diseases, doctor treatment and a healthy lifestyle are very important to apply. The adoption of a healthy lifestyle also applies to those of you who are healthy free from disease.
You can take action to prevent heart disease by replacing oily and high carbohydrate foods with foods that are healthy for the heart. Perfect by getting used to exercise 30 minutes every day. Then, stop smoking and reduce the habit of drinking alcohol.
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