After a patient has a heart attack, the heart muscle tissue can lose oxygen and eventually break down and die. Actions that need to be taken to prevent further heart damage is to restore blood flow as soon as possible, either with drugs or surgery.
Drugs The
- following are drugs that will be given to treat a heart attack.
- Antiplatelet drugs, such as aspirin and clopidogrel, to prevent blood clots, so that blood can still flow through the narrowed blood vessels.
- Blood vessel widening drugs, such as nitroglycerin, to widen blood vessels thereby increasing blood flow to the heart.
- Painkillers, such as morphine, to relieve pain experienced by sufferers.
- Blood clot-busting medications, such as streptokinase, to help dissolve blood clots that are blocking blood flow to the heart muscle.
- drugs Anticoagulant, such as enoxaparin, to prevent blood clots from happening again.
- Cholesterol medications, eg atorvastatin, to lower cholesterol levels.
- ACE inhibitors, such as ramipril, to dilate blood vessels and lower blood pressure, thereby reducing the burden on the heart.
- Beta-blocking hypertension drugs, eg bisoprolol, to lower the heart rate and reduce blood pressure, thereby reducing the work of the heart.
Surgery The
followingprocedures heart surgery may be necessary to treat a heart attack:
A heart ring (stent) or coronary angioplasty
In this procedure, a catheter with a balloon at the end is inserted into a large blood vessel in the groin or arm. Then the catheter will be directed to the narrowed blood vessel.
After that, the balloon will be inflated to open the blood vessel. Then the doctor can insert a ring or stent to keep the blood vessel open for a long time.
surgery bypass Heart coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
surgery bypass heart performed when many coronary artery blockage occurs when the coronary arteries or malformed. CABG is performed by creating a new blood vessel, taken from another blood vessel in the leg, as an alternative pathway for blocked blood flow.
If the heart function does not return to normal with the various treatments above, resulting in heart failure, the cardiologist may recommend a heart transplant, which is replacing the patient's heart that has been damaged with a donor heart.
Donor hearts that are still healthy are usually taken from the donor, namely a deceased person, with prior approval to donate organs, both from the person himself or his family.
Recovery after Experiencing a Heart Attack Cardiac
program rehabilitation will start from the time the patient is in the hospital, until several weeks or months after the patient returns home. The main goal of this rehabilitation is to restore the patient's physical fitness so that they can continue their daily activities, and reduce the risk of complications and heart attacks again.
This cardiac rehabilitation program consists of several types of aerobic exercise, such as cycling, jogging, and swimming. To find out other cardiac rehabilitation programs, patients can ask directly to the doctor.
Even at home, sufferers are advised to do light exercise, such as walking a short distance and going up and down stairs. Furthermore, patients can increase their physical activity slowly.
In addition to rehabilitation, the following are things that patients need to pay attention to when recovering from a heart attack:
Intimate
intercourse can be done after the patient feels healthy, usually 4-6 weeks after treatment. Intimate relationships do not put a person at risk for repeated heart attacks.
Although it does not trigger a heart attack, please note that men are at risk of experiencing impotence after a heart attack, due to stress and anxiety, as well as the side effects of the drugs they take.
Mental disorders
After returning from the hospital, sufferers can feel anxious, afraid, or experience trauma due to a heart attack. This can affect the speed of recovery. Therefore, patients need to consult a psychiatrist to get treatment for this mental disorder.
Return to work and driving The
type of work and health conditions are very influential in determining when the sufferer can return to work. Patients may be allowed to return to work after 2 weeks, or they may be advised to change their type of work.
Talk to your doctor about when is the right time to return to work. Also ask your doctor when you will be allowed to drive again. Usually, patients are allowed to return to driving after 1-6 weeks.