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In many cases, patients with heart or vascular disease
benefit from making lifestyle modifications or changing
or adding medications to their daily lives.
Lifestyle modifications
Medications
Lifestyle modifications
Patient who are not able to attend a traditional cardiac
rehabilitation program are encouraged to make healthy
lifestyle changes to reduce their risk of further heart
and/or vascular disease. Research has found that patients
are at different stages of readiness to change their
health behavior. Working one-on-one with a cardiac risk
factor case manager, the patient and manager set mutually
agreed upon goals. The case manager coaches the patient
through these lifestyle changes with the use of patient
self-assessment, monitoring tools and telephone follow-up.
Medications
Most patients with heart or vascular disease
are treated with medication. The right medications at
the right dosages can often times help a patient feel
better and live longer. Physicians who have extensive
experience with specific heart and vascular medications,
apply them very aggressively to lessen a patient's symptoms.
Most common are antiplatelet medicines, which prevent
the smallest cells in blood from sticking together,
or anticoagulants, which prevent the production of proteins
needed for blood to clot normally.
Heart failure patients may take several medications,
but three types of medication are most common: ace-inhibitors,
to help open the veins and arteries; beta-blockers,
to block the negative effects of excess adrenaline;
and diuretics (water pills), to help the body get rid
of excess fluids.
Some patients may be candidates for one of the many
drug studies available for patients with heart failure.
New medications are being tested that improve the muscle
contractions of the heart, improve the output or volume
of blood pumped by the heart, or slow the heart rate
and lower blood pressure.
If you would like to make an appointment or need assistance
to find an appropriate physician, please call us at
(888) LUHS-888.
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