Heart Attacks: When Will We Finally Do What Needs to be Done?

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Heart Attacks When Will We Finally Do What Needs
to be Done?
By The Doctor Weighs In
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Introduction

• Senator Bernie Sanders, was hospitalized after
  experiencing chest pain at a campaign event on
  October 2. He is said to have had blockages in
  one of his coronary arteries. Two stents were
  placed to open them. Several days later we
  learned that Senator Sanders had suffered a heart
  attack (also known as a myocardial infarction) as
  a result of the diminished blood flow to his
  heart muscle.

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The significance of new chest pain

• Based on what we know, this was a new and unusual
  chest pain for him. It was, in fact, described as
  a chest discomfort in many of the media
  stories. Chest pains of cardiac origin may be
  accompanied by other symptoms, such as fatigue,
  weakness, sweating, and shortness of breath.
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The cause of heart attacks and sudden death

• Thanks to leading cardiologists like Erling Falk,
  Peter Libby, and Steven Nissen we now know that
  heart attacks and sudden death almost are almost
  always the result of an unstable (vulnerable)
  plaque that has ruptured.
• The unstable plaque contains LDL cholesterol,
  commonly known as bad cholesterol. That LDL
  cholesterol is oxidizedchemically changedin the
  wall of the artery. That causes the immune system
  to recognize it as foreign. The human body deals
  with foreign material by attacking it with white
  blood cells (pus cells).
• Related  Did the President Pass or Fail His
  Heart Health Tests?

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Tying the critical facts about atherosclerotic
coronary artery disease together

• Other medications like ACE inhibitors for blood
  pressure and  metformin for diabetes have
  beneficial effects on the metabolism of the
  arterial wall to improve arterial function and
  diminish plaque instability.

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What we already know about coronary artery disease

• We already have a very solid understanding of the
  pathophysiology of coronary artery disease. And,
  we know what to do to substantially reduce the
  risk of heart attacks with medical treatment.
  Lowering blood pressure, blood glucose, and
  cholesterol to aggressive goals lowers the risk
  of heart attack and sudden death dramatically. We
  also know that stopping cigarette smoking (or
  never starting) is important to avoid developing
  coronary artery disease.

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Appropriate and inappropriate use of stents

• Placing stents or by-passing acutely obstructed
  arteries can reduce the amount of damage to the
  heart muscle, particularly if done early. That is
  what occurred in Senator Sanders case.

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We know what we should do, why arent we doing it?

• The new science of vascular disease tells us
  that we are doing too many catheterizations,
  bypasses, and stents. And, we are not doing
  enough aggressive medical management of risk
  factors to prevent people from having heart
  attacks in the first place.
• Related content What Everyone Should Know About
  Their Heart
• We have known what to do to prevent heart attacks
  for a long time. My question is why arent we
  doing it? Let us call it what it isa failure of
  leadership on this issue. How many good men and
  women have to suffer heart attacks and sudden
  death before we finally get this right?

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The Doctor Weighs In Author William H.
Bestermann Jr., MD Click Here To Read The Full
Article https//thedoctorweighsin.com/heart-attac
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