Once a person finds out, or may just suspect, they have heart and/or artery disease the next step is finding the right cardiovascular disease treatment. To do this they will either need to depend on their doctor to make the choice for them or gather enough factual information to make a well informed decision on their own.
Could prescription medications be the best cardiovascular disease treatment?
High cholesterol is one of the primary building blocks for the formations of arterial plaque deposits, thus making drugs to lower blood cholesterol a often prescribed treatment option.
There are four general categories of prescription medications commonly prescribed to help rein in high cholesterol. They are statins, bile acid sequestrants, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, nicotinic acid (prescription strength niacin), and fibrates.
There is a great deal of controversy surround some of the medications. For example nicotinic acid is considered by many to be the most effective of the group, but can damage the liver. There are also a number of other unpleasant side effects associated with prescription strength niacin.
Another example would be bile acid sequestrants which bind to cholesterol containing bile acids in the intestines, which are then sent out of the body by way of stool. The problem here is that they often cause severe diarrhea, making them intolerable to some.
So most doctors have concluded that best mix of effectiveness and safety comes in the form of the statins. Statins in themselves are not without controversy, in fact from 1997-2001 there were 31 deaths attributed to a strong statin medication produced by the Bayer company known as Baycol. The reason for the deaths was a condition known as rhabdomyolysis. In rhabdomyolysis the body is deprived of the necessary amount of cholesterol for cell function, which then produces cell and muscle death. As the bloodstream is flooded with dead cells and other waste products the small passages in, and around, the kidneys clog causing kidney failure and ultimately death.
While this is a scary possibility often linked to statin medications there is little evidence to suggest that most recent array of statin medications (Lipitor, Crestor) trigger rhabdomyolysis. Nevertheless, it is a fact that should not be ignored.
What about aspirin as a cardiovascular disease treatment?
Low dose aspirin is commonly suggested by doctor and works by thinning the blood while inhibiting the sticky platelets floating in the blood from clotting. This is of particularly advantageous in the very early morning hours when the blood is at is stickiest and when most heart attacks occur. While aspirin may be a very useful tool in preventing heart attacks, there is no evidence to suggest that it will reverse the underlying causes of cardiovascular disease.
What about diet and lifestyle changes to reverse cardiovascular disease?
Making changes in a person's diet and lifestyle is perhaps the single most important cardiovascular disease treatment. Ironic isn't it that the very same choices that got us into this predicament in the first place, when changed, can lead us out.
The list of possible diet and lifestyle modifications includes a low saturated fat and cholesterol diet, adding 10 grams of soluble fiber to your daily routine, increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables consumed while decreasing the amount of meat, consuming cold water fatty fish twice a week, saying no to primary and secondary tobacco smoke, effectively managing blood pressure and diabetes, and implementing a doctor approved exercise plan at least 5 days a week.
What about surgery?
If coronary blockage is so severe your physician feels you life is at risk chances are emergency surgery will be the preferred cardiovascular disease treatment method. The three most common procedures are balloon angioplasty, stenting, and bypass surgery.
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