Cardiology- Life Saving Procedures.

A cardiac emergency is a life-threatening event. It requires immediate treatment in a hospital environment aided by the latest technology to save lives. Medical advances have made hitherto impossible situations salvable and we are now able to save lives more easily. The necessity is early medical intervention, CPR, defibrillation and medical or surgical treatment.

Here are a the major most commonly done life-saving cardiac procedures:

Angioplasty

When blood supply is disrupted to a particular portion of the heart, the heart is weakened as the muscle tissue gets oxygen starved. This can lead to permanent damage. The best way to prevent heart muscle damage after an attack is an angioplasty. A catheter is threaded through a blood vessel in the arm or leg up to the block in the cardiac blood vessel. The block is removed and a stent is placed to keep it open and maintain blood flow. When done within a few hours of an attack a Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) saves the heart and prevents any damage.

Coronary bypass surgery

When a blood vessel in the heart is blocked, a healthy blood vessel is removed from the leg, chest or arm and grafted on to the blood vessel to create a new pathway for the blood to flow bypassing the blocked area. This saves the heart from potentially life-threatening conditions and fatal heart attacks.

Implantable defibrillator

The heart has a rhythm and it has to be maintained perfectly to avoid fatal heart conditions. Certain arrhythmias are dangerous and an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) is used to shock the heart into normal rhythm whenever there is a disturbance. The ICD is implanted in the chest and a wire is inserted into the heart to monitor the heart rhythm and deliver the shock.

Other procedures include valve repair, congenital heart problem corrections, pacemakers and minimally invasive surgeries. 

Cardiac emergencies are generally a result of chronic cardiac diseases. Sometimes congenital problems can also lead to heart disease. A regular heart check-up, especially if you are in the high-risk group, a heart healthy diet, regular exercise and management of stress go a long way in preventing cardiac emergencies.

If you have any heart problem or require a heart check-up, contact our cardiology department.