As technology and medicine improve and science heralds new breakthroughs, it is thought that heart disease will soon be curable and treatments will become more effective. For those living with the threat of heart disease, the thought of a cure is a welcome one indeed and promises an exciting future.
First let’s look at the impact of heart disease:
According to the NHS heart disease causes around 82,000 deaths each year, affecting one in five men and one in eight women. The symptoms of heart disease are different from the symptoms of a stroke and typically include:
– Chest pain – Palpitations – Breathlessness
If you or someone you know experiences these symptoms then you must call 999 without delay.
Cures for Heart Disease
There may be no cure at present for heart disease but modern treatments have halved the number of related deaths according to the British Heart Foundation.
Regular monitoring, leading a healthy lifestyle and taking the right medication or treatment can be just as good a cure and the exciting news is that more research is being undertaken all the time to try and understand the causes and to look into possible high risk genes for heart disease and examine the link between abnormal genes and cholesterol.
Plus there continues to be breakthroughs in treatment for heart disease, such as heart regeneration (which might sound like something from Doctor Who, but which involves an ongoing study by scientists in the US who discovered that self-reparation of the heart), made is possible during embryonic development, could be re-activated during adulthood.
At the moment the research is still quite new but it heralds new hope for those whose hearts have suffered lasting damage.
Modern Treatments for Heart Disease
There are many different treatments for heart disease depending on the patient and circumstances. New modern treatments include:
Statin drugs which work to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. Scientists are working on new drugs to target inflammation or further increase levels of good cholesterol.
Anti-inflammatory drugs are still being researched which can specifically target inflammation in artery walls.
Genetic research can examine a person’s profile and identify certain genes that have been linked to heart disease. This can help target new therapy which could herald a breakthrough in treatment for heart disease.
Surgery for Heart Disease
Surgery can be an option where medication has failed and can significantly improve the patient’s long-term outcome. Some surgery options include:
Bypass Surgery: re-routes blood around a blocked heart artery.
Left Ventricular Assist Device: the LVAD is a temporary measure to help your heart to pump blood more effectively around the body until you can have surgery.
Heart Valve Surgery: modern technology now means that leaky heart valves can be replaced or repaired.
Heart Transplant: this risky operation now carries much higher odds of success, again thanks to modern technology which helps surgeons in the operating theatre. Odds of success are now 9 in 10 people who undergo this type of surgery.
Preventing Heart Disease
Of course they say prevention is better than a cure and there are several ways in which you can lower your risk:
– Eat a healthy diet rich in proteins, fibre, vitamins and minerals.
– Cut down on salt, sugar and saturated fats.
– Cut down on alcohol and cigarettes as both these are major risk factors for heart disease.
– Take more exercise.
Obviously exercise can be difficult when you are older and even the stairs present a challenge. Stairlifts can help you get around the house and there are even outdoor stairlifts to help you tackle stairs in the garden for instance.
But even those with reduced mobility can improve their general health with some exercise ideas for older adults.
Advances in technology are changing our world and improving the health of the nation. One day the biggest killer of people in the UK (according to NHS) may well be defeated.
This guest post was researched and written by Acorn Stairlifts, specialist designers, manufacturers and installers of straight and curved stairlifts, helping to keep Britain mobile and independent for longer.
