Table of contents:
- Medication to treat a heart attack
- Medicines used to treat heart attacks
- Medicines prevent blood clots
- Medicines to lower blood pressure
- Cholesterol-lowering drugs
- Other methods of treatment for heart attacks
- 1. Angioplasty and stenting
- 2. Heart bypass surgery
- 3. Heart transplant
Heart attack is indeed a type of heart disease that can endanger the life of anyone who experiences it. However, that does not mean there is no right way to deal with a heart attack. Yes, a heart attack can be cured with the right treatment methods. Then, what are the ways that can be done to deal with a heart attack? Check out the following explanation.
Medication to treat a heart attack
A heart attack is a condition that occurs due to blockages in the arteries. This causes blood flow to the heart to be smooth or obstructed. At that time, the heart muscles do not receive enough oxygen so that in a short time they become damaged and cause a heart attack.
This condition is indeed quite severe, but you can overcome it with the use of various drugs as well as treatment methods such as surgery. However, beforehand, you need to know that the treatment of a heart attack can be differentiated based on the type of heart attack being experienced.
Medicines used to treat heart attacks
There are several types of medications your doctor or medical professional may give you as a way to help you deal with a heart attack.
Medicines prevent blood clots
1. Antiplatelet
How to deal with a heart attack can be done by taking anti-platelet drugs. This medicine works so that the platelets do not stick together and form blood clots. The reason is, blood clots can cause a heart attack.
This drug will usually be given by medical personnel who are in the ER as first aid for heart attacks. The goal is to prevent the formation of new blood clots and prevent blood clots that have formed from becoming larger.
One of the most commonly used antiplatelet drugs is aspirin. Aspirin can decrease the number of blood clots, thereby increasing blood flow to the heart through narrowed arteries. This happens because the aspirin will occupy the platelets, which are small blood cells that can trigger blood clots.
Launching Harvard Medical School, aspirin in the form of chewable tablets can work faster than in other forms. At least, it takes 14 minutes for this drug to occupy the platelets in the body.
2. Thrombolytic
Apart from aspirin, another way that can be done to treat a heart attack is to take thrombolytics. This drug helps thin blood clots that block blood flow to the heart.
The sooner you take this drug, the more likely you are to recover from a heart attack sooner. In addition, this drug can also reduce heart damage when an attack occurs.
Usually, as a way of dealing with a heart attack, thrombolytics are taken immediately after experiencing the condition. This medicine is only given in a hospital through a vein in the hand or arm.
You are not advised to use this drug carelessly. The reason is, even though it can overcome a heart attack, the wrong way to use drugs can provide unwanted risks. Moreover, this drug should only be used at certain times.
For example, this medication may be used when the risk of bleeding can be balanced against the risk of blood clots that occur very rapidly.
Medicines to lower blood pressure
1. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
ACE inhibitors are a type of drug that can also be used to treat heart attacks. The way this drug that can treat heart attacks works is to dilate the narrowed blood vessels.
In addition, this drug also inhibits the formation of the hormone angiotensin II, which can cause constriction of blood vessels. That way, this drug can lower blood pressure and reduce the workload of the heart.
2. Beta-blockers
This one drug can also be consumed as a way to deal with a heart attack. Medicines included in the group beta blockerscan help the heart muscle relax as well as slow down the heart rate and reduce blood pressure. That way, the work of the heart becomes lighter.
Not only that, the drugs in this class can also limit the damage to the heart muscle and prevent the occurrence of a second heart attack and so on. Therefore, the doctor may give this drug as a treatment for heart attacks.
There are also other medicines you can use to treat the cause of your heart attack. Well, the use of these drugs certainly depends on the root of the heart attack problem.
For example, if you have a heart attack due to high cholesterol levels in the blood, statin drugs can be drugs that can treat heart attacks.
Cholesterol-lowering drugs
Another way to deal with a heart attack is to take cholesterol-lowering drugs. The reason is, cholesterol levels that are too high can also increase your risk of experiencing one of these types of heart disease.
Statin drugs are the most commonly used cholesterol-lowering drugs. The following are some of the types of statin drugs.
- atorvastatin
- fluvastatin
- lovastatin
- pravastatin
- simvastatin
Other methods of treatment for heart attacks
In addition to taking drugs to treat heart attacks, you can also do other methods that are also often used to treat heart attacks.
1. Angioplasty and stenting
This procedure is one way of dealing with a heart attack. Angioplasty is a medical procedure performed in which a heart specialist who treats your condition will insert a long thin catheter or tube through an artery in your inner thigh or wrist to a blocked artery in your heart.
If you have a heart attack, this procedure is often done right after cardiac catheterization, a procedure that is done to locate the blockage. This catheter is accompanied by a special balloon which, once placed in the correct position, helps to open the blocked artery.
After that, a metal stent will be inserted into the artery. The goal is to keep the arteries open, so that blood flow to the heart returns smoothly.
2. Heart bypass surgery
Other treatments as a way of dealing with a heart attack can also be done through a heart bypass surgery procedure. Operations performed to treat a heart attack are performed by sewing a vein or artery just above the blocked or narrowed artery.
The purpose of suturing is to create a shortcut for blood flow to the heart. That way, blood flow can go through a "shortcut" to get to the heart without needing to go through blocked arteries.
Usually, this operation is done suddenly, right after a heart attack. However, if possible, bypass surgery can also be done at other times, for example three to seven days after the heart attack occurs.
3. Heart transplant
Another way that can also be done to deal with a heart attack is a heart transplant. This means that a heart that is damaged and can no longer be used is replaced with a healthier donor heart.
Usually, this procedure is done because there is no progress in heart health conditions even after undergoing surgery and taking blood thinning drugs.
Heart transplant surgery is a major operation. In addition, to be able to undergo this operation, you certainly need a donor heart first to replace a heart that is already damaged.
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