Therapeutic methods
Depending on the disease, different procedures are indicated in cardiology. In general, however, a few therapy classes are in the foreground. A great many cardiological diseases – such as high blood pressure, heart failure or cardiac arrhythmia – often require lifelong treatment with drugs, whereby this so-called pharmacological approach is usually combined with other measures.
Particularly in the case of “angiological” problems such as coronary heart disease (CHD), a major focus of treatment is on changing the patient’s lifestyle; above all, increased exercise, a healthy diet and abstinence from tobacco consumption can make a significant contribution to preventing the disease from progressing or even improving the symptoms. Above all, in emergency situations it may be necessary to bring a rhythmically reversed heart back into the right rhythm through well-dosed electrical impulses. This so-called cardioversion or defibrillation can also be performed by small implanted devices (pacemakers, cardioverters/defibrillators), just like a permanent basic rhythm.
Various interventions can also be performed within the scope of a catherter examination. With a small balloon, constricted areas are expanded (coronary angioplasty) and, if necessary, kept permanently open by a so-called stent. With small umbrellas, wall defects or auricles can be closed, and even artificial heart valves can be inserted and attached.
Sometimes, however, surgical intervention cannot be prevented. Depending on the situation, the necessary work is then performed with or without an open-heart heart-lung machine or with keyhole technology. This can be a valve replacement or a bypass insertion (a bridging of a constricted area in a coronary vessel with an autologous vessel taken from elsewhere). In rare cases, heart transplantations (heart transplants) are also performed.
Prevention in cardiology
Preventive measures against cardiological diseases do not receive the individual or social attention they require in Western countries. The average Western lifestyle, with its lack of exercise and nutritional attention, combined with a smoker’s biography, is a major factor in the development of various cardiovascular diseases.
