Heart Surgeons and Open Heart Surgery

March 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A residency for heart surgeons is usually 6-9 years training to be fully qualified as a surgeon. Training for cardiac surgery can be combined with vascular or thoracic surgery. A cardiac surgeon can go into residency straight from their medical school, or completing surgery residency which then is followed with a fellowship. They may further go into a fellowship for cardiac transplants, pediatric heart surgery, or acquired adult heart conditions.

Open heart surgery is done when repairing or replacing heart valves, heart bypass, atrial fibrillation, and heart transplants. (CABG) coronary artery bypass grafting, is the heart surgery type that is most common. Over 500,000 are done annually in the U.S., on people having a severe coronary heart disease. Plaque builds in the arteries and limits the blood flowing to the heart muscle, causing chest pain, heart attacks, or shortness of breath. Heart surgeons can perform multiple bypasses in one surgery. You can discuss the option of having angioplasty instead of CABG, where the surgeon uses a balloon to open blocked arteries and might put in a stint to support the walls of the affected artery. If no treatments are feasible, the cardiac surgeon may use the option of transmyocardial laser revasculation (TLR) but is uncommon.

Replacing or repairing heart valves is another type surgery done on the heart. When valves aren’t working properly, the surgeon has to repair or replace them. Heart valves are either replaced by valves of man-made materials, or from animal or human tissue. When the pulmonary or mitral valve is narrowed, a heart surgeon performs cardiac catherization. Arrhythmia is first treated with medications, but if that doesn’t work, surgery may be needed to put into place a pacemaker to control the rhythm of your heart.

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Keep The Ticker Ticking

December 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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While all the muscles in the body work together to keep us moving and shaking, one of the most important muscles is the heart. The heart works hard to keep the body fueled, and we need to take care of it. Exercise is wonderful. A good brisk walk not only clears the mind, it makes us feel good. At the same time, we are exercising that very important muscle in the middle of the chest, the heart. Keeping stress down is important to a healthy heart, and hence, a healthier life. An extremely important part of heart health is obviously, the diet.

Eating the right foods, in the right combination, at the right time of day, is a huge step towards a healthy heart, and a healthier you. The truth is that healthier choices can please the palate as well as the heart. While a breakfast of bacon and eggs is fine sometimes, substituting that breakfast meal with some whole grain cereal and fresh fruit will make your heart very happy, and you will be healthier. Substitute a healthy breakfast more often during the week, say four to six times a week, and your heart is a happy little muscle.

Keep yourself active. One does not have to run the Boston Marathon on a monthly basis to keep the heart healthy. A nice brisk walk a couple of times a week makes a huge difference. Not only will you be exercising your heart, you will be exercising your body, which will also reap the benefits. Tighter muscles work better, make us less tired, and we will be less likely to sit on the couch and grab a bag of chips.

Our hearts will hopefully keep us living for a very long time. If we take good care of it, the chances are that the heart will take care of us well into our golden years.

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Do What You Are Told

December 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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Heart conditions and heart surgeries are serious business. When chest pain hits, you never know what is causing it. It can be as simple as a bad case of indigestion, or as serious as one or more blocked heart valves. When the heart valves are blocked, the heart cannot do its job. There are as many reasons for heart disease as there are people who have heart disease. Finding out you have a heart condition is only the first step. The next step is yours.

We all know that eating right, exercising, staying away from cigarettes, drugs and alcohol are all ways to stay heart healthy. Everyone has a vice. When your heart is at stake, there are seriously important decisions to be made. Once the doctors determine what the problem is, they will take steps to fix said problem. This may include just diet and exercise. It may be that you need medication. Or in more serious cases, surgery might be the answer. Whatever the treatment for your problem, your doctor will tell you to take better care of yourself. Start eating right, exercise regularly, and absolutely stay away from cigarettes, alcohol or illicit drugs.

When it comes to your health and your heart, do what you are told. Make the decision to have a healthier life. Put down the cigarettes, cut out the happy hours, take a walk, eat an apple instead of a doughnut. These can be very difficult steps for some people. People who have smoked for many years find it near impossible to quit. Many people who have heart issues still continue to smoke. Those who have issues with alcohol find it just as difficult to put the bottle down.

Stop and think. What is important to you? Can those cigarettes or that drink possibly be more important than what you have left to live for? Take a good look at your family, the answer is right there.

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An Apple or Five a Day

December 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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The old proverb that, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is more than just a whimsical saying. Eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day has proven to keep us healthier. A 19 year study in adults ages 25 to 74 found that those who ate three or more servings of fruit a day cut their risk of dying by 27%, as opposed to those who only consumed one serving of fruit per day.

It is actually probably more likely that eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day reduces the risk factors for cardiac disease rather than actually fighting the disease. Cardiac risk factors include things like being overweight, high cholesterol, and too much fat in the diet. We have no control over some of the factors for heart disease, but by substituting some of the fattier foods with a piece of fruit or a serving of vegetables, you are working towards a healthier lifestyle. You will be more likely to lose weight, the fruit will replace the fat in your diet and in turn, your cholesterol will come down.

Of course, if you are feeling healthier, the chances are that you will want to keep that feeling and work on more healthy aspects of your life. With a little weight off and the fats in your diet not weighing you down, you may just find yourself outside more often, taking in the fresh air, going for a walk. All of these suggestions will start you on a path to a healthier heart. Nobody wants to be faced with the decision to be on a lifetime of heart medication, or to have heart surgery. It is never too late to start getting healthy, and it is so easy to get started. If you eat one apple today, maybe you will eat another tomorrow and you know what they say about an apple a day.

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Living With Heart Disease

December 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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Heart disease is a term that denotes an extremely large field of medicine. If you have high blood pressure, you have heart disease. If you have had atrial fibrillation treated by a cardiologist, you have heart disease. If you have to take medication daily to control any heart condition, you have heart disease. While many people think of heart disease as something fatal, and in some cases it can be, most heart conditions are treatable and easy to maintain if the right steps are taken.

Keeping up with health check ups with your family physician or cardiologist is essential to maintaining your health and keeping your heart disease under control. Taking any medication that is prescribed to you is essential in managing your heart disease. These medications are carefully formulated and specific to your type of heart disease. Taking them as directed will keep your heart from causing any problems in your life. Hence, not taking them as directed can have serious, even fatal, side effects. Over time if you do not take your medication as directed, your heart disease can progress, it can easily become more serious and can cause irreversible damage to your heart muscle.

Eating a healthy diet and getting as much exercise as you can are also essential steps to keeping your heart healthy. Cutting out some of the fats in your diet and substituting unhealthy snacks with fruit or low fat snacks is one way you can take charge of your care. Taking a nice walk a few times a week goes a long way in helping to keep the heart muscle strong. Obviously, if you are smoking, you should make every effort to stop. Smoking can cause serious risks to a patient with heart disease.

By just managing your lifestyle a little differently and making some minimal changes, you can keep your heart healthy for a very long time to come.

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Choosing The Right Doctor

December 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment

You have been diagnosed with heart disease. Those two words alone can mean something as minor as a heart beat flutter to full blown blocked arteries and need for surgery. How do you find out what the next step is? Who is the right professional for your needs?

If a baby is born with a heart problem, the professionals will probably be called in right at the time of birth, and these specialists and their colleagues will determine exactly what needs to be done and who is the best specialist for that. Heart disease will need to be followed throughout the child’s life, thus setting up lifelong heart care. If you have never had heart disease, and begin to have symptoms, you would probably start with your family doctor. Yearly physicals are so important for catching heart disease at its earliest and making the treatment of heart disease work the best for you. You may just be starting to have some high blood pressure. Your physician will tell you to exercise more, eat healthier and he may prescribe some blood pressure medication, which you may be on for a lifetime. Taken properly and taking care of yourself can keep this particular heart disease in check forever.

If it something more involved, your family doctor will send you to a heart doctor, or cardiologist. Your cardiologist may handle your issues with just medication if that is all that is necessary or you may need another step. Further testing may be involved, or even surgery. The cardiologist will then send you to a cardiac surgeon, who will do whatever is necessary to diagnose the proper issue with your particular heart. From there you may be sent to another specialist, as the study of the heart and those who have made it their life’s work are vast and varied. Do your research. With the right guidance from your doctors, your heart will be in good hands.

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The Doctor is Right

December 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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You have some chest pain, a little indigestion. You take some antacids, stop eating greasy foods so much and figure it will go away. It does not. You try the antacids again, drink more water, maybe cut out the greasy foods altogether. It gets a little better, but it is still there. You are too busy to go to the doctor right now. You will get around to it. What if it is something more serious? What if you should get it checked out. Your spouse makes an appointment for you because they are tired of hearing you complain, and they are concerned it might be something more.

You head to the doctor’s office. The doctor gives you a check up, scolds you about the usual, you should lose some weight, smoking should definitely be cut out, get a little exercise. Just to be sure he does an electrocardiogram, a tracing of your heart. He sees something. Maybe it is nothing, maybe it is something that should be taken care of. He sends you to a cardiologist, the heart doctor.

The cardiologist does some further testing and finds out that you actually may have a blocked valve or something else going on in your heart. He sends you for a cardiac cauterization. This test puts a wire directly into the veins that go to the heart to see if there is a blockage. If there is a blockage, the doctor can place a stent, a little metal piece that will hold the valve open so that it can do its job. You can also have more than one stent placed. In extreme cases, he may need to use veins from other parts of your body to replace blocked or damaged veins, bypass surgery. It also may be something that can be handled with medicine. Whatever the case, listen to your body, and then listen to your doctor.

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When It Is Time To Quit

December 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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Everyone knows that smoking is not good for us. People who smoke two cigarettes a day know this, people who smoke three packs of cigarettes a day know this. Cigarette smoking is an addiction. Smokers do not often think of it that way, as it is legal and they are not out on the streets trying to score a pack of Marlboros. This addiction is never more prevalent then when it becomes absolutely necessary to break the habit.

There are many, many good reasons to stop smoking. It is an expensive habit. A pack a day can cost thousands of dollars over a year. It is, at least in most parts of the country, not allowed in most public places. No more lighting up at the restaurant or in the Mall. Almost all school zones and places where children are present are “NO SMOKING” zones now. It bothers other people. Nonsmokers do not like to be too close to smokers. Smoke causes an odor on the clothing, on the breath, and basically in the air surrounding the smoker.

All good reasons to quit. However, when a diagnosis of heart disease is made, your doctor will suggest, event insist, that you quit smoking. Your heart is a muscle and when you smoke, you are literally choking the muscle. Sometimes a heart attack kills a person. If you are lucky, your heart may give you warning signs, a little chest pain, some shortness of breath. When you get this checked and you get a diagnosis of heart disease, it is time to quit. It is a proven fact that if you have to have stents placed in your heart, smoking can cause your arteries to clog and block the stents, thereby causing a heart attack.

Smoking has no redeeming qualities, however it has many bad consequences. Give up the habit, be good to your heart.

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A Brief History of Heart Surgeons

December 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Heart surgeons and other professionals working in the cardiovascular professions have a rich history. Cardiac surgeons operate or perform surgery on the heart. Most of the time these surgeries are performed to treat heart disease, correct heart diseases caused by a congenital defect or treat disease caused by issues such as endocarditis. Heart transplants also fall under the purview of these professionals.

In the 19th century, early operations were performed on the sac surrounding the heart (pericardium) by Daniel Hale Williams, Henry Dalton and others. Axel Cappelen from Norway performed the first heart surgery in 1895. During this procedure he sutured a coronary artery on a patient who had been stabbed in the armpit. Cappelen accessed the heart through the left side of the chest. While the patient appeared to recuperate, he later succumbed to an inflammation of the chest tissues (mediasatinum).

In 1896 Dr. Ludwig Rehn of Germany repaired a stab wound to the right chamber of the heart and this surgery was consider a success as there were no resulting complications.

In 1925 Henry Souttar performed the first operation on the valves of a heart. While the patient did survive, the other physicians of the time determined that there was no justification for that type of invasive surgery and Souttar was prohibited from future valve surgeries.

After World War II there were significant changes in heart surgery. Four surgeons in 1948 successfully repair valve damage caused by rheumatic fever. Other surgeries that followed included removal of a portion of the mitral valve by Dr. Dwight Harken, and three surgeons who adopted Souttar’s earlier procedures and techniques. Other surgeons of the time performed work to repair pulmonary stenosis and other heart defects. All of these surgeries were considered “blind” operations—surgeons could not actually see the damage and relied on feel. After heart bypass techniques were discovered, new types of operations made way for direct surgery on valves.

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Walk Yourself Healthy

December 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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You have been diagnosed with heart disease. The cardiology professionals have told you what you need to do. If you have had surgery, you need to let your body heal. If you are taking medicine, you should be taking it properly, as directed. After the major event and the healing has occurred, you now are more aware than ever that you have to take better care of yourself. There are the obvious things, no smoking, keep drinking to a minimum, get your weight under control. You know that these things need to be done. In taking care of your heart remember one thing, the heart is a muscle.

If your leg muscles were sore, you would rest them and then you would exercise them, so that the next time you overdid it a little, there would be no pain. You can exercise your heart in really much the same way. Walking is one of the best ways to exercise your heart. Nobody loves exercise, well maybe Richard Simmons loves exercise. Most of us do it because there is a goal. A goal of a healthy heart should be more than enough motivation to want to exercise more.

It is said that a home walking program can be as beneficial as hospital directed cardiac rehabilitation. Have a check-up to make sure walking for exercise is safe. Start out slow, pick up the pace as you go along and slow it down at the end. Use a pedometer and try adding 2,000 steps to your daily walk, gradually increasing as you go. Walk with friends, walk on your lunch break, or put on your trusty MP3 player and walk to your favorite tunes. Doing this just 30 minutes a day five times a week will be of great benefit to your heart. You will feel so much better, it might even make you want to make other changes to better your health.

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