How to Use Surgery to Treat Heart Disease

Heart surgery is required when diet, exercise and medications are not enough. Open heart surgery is the most invasive while endoscopic surgeries are less invasive. Doctors only use heart surgery as a final option when the other treatment methods are not enough.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Treat Certain Types of Heart Disease With Surgery

1. Know that sometimes, diet, exercise and stress reduction are not enough to treat heart disease. Even the use of prescription drugs might not be effective in all cases. There may come a time when the only option remaining is heart surgery.

2. Don't think that heart surgery is the end of the world. Recognize that while surgery is a major decision, thousands of people undergo heart surgery every year and are able to maintain normal, healthy lives.

3. Be aware that recent advances in technology and medical science have made heart surgeries less invasive and much safer than they were in the past. Robotic technology makes surgery pin-point accurate and leaves little trace behind.

4. Appreciate the fact that these minimally invasive procedures have been able to replace more traumatic, open heart surgery in some cases. Rather than opening up the the entire thoracic cavity by removing part of the rib cage to perform revascularization procedures on your arteries, for example, doctors can enter the body in another location with tiny cameras and perform the work without damaging surrounding areas. This type of endoscopic procedure is much like the well known "scoping" of an injured knee.

5. Know that after heart surgery you may need to continue to take prescription drugs and to see your doctor regularly. If a pace maker was installed you'll need to have it checked out frequently or if you received a heart transplant you'll need to take immunosuppression drugs to keep your body from rejecting its new heart.

Prepare for Heart Surgery

6. Check into the hospital and talk to your doctor about what to expect. Sometimes doctors in hospitals can be very busy, so you may need to be persistent in order to get your questions answered. It helps to have a family member or friend as your advocate.

7. Take any pre-op tests that may be required.

8. Go about your life normally unless instructed to do otherwise. You may be advised not to eat, drink or shower for a certain time period before your surgery, for example.

9. Store your personal items, including contact lenses, with family members.

10. Take the medication you're given before hand to stay calm and to prepare for the surgery.

11. Learn more about how to treat heart disease and how to prepare for surgery from the American Heart Society (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• Do not attempt to self diagnose serious heart disease that may require surgery. Consult your doctor: only she knows how to diagnose heart disease and how to treat it.

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