FAQs

1. What does heart failure mean?

Heart failure, is also called as cardiac insufficiency, is the condition when the heart muscle's pump function is reduced. In such a condition heart is unable to produce the power to pump the required amount of blood to the body.

2. What is extracorporeal circulation?

Extracorporeal circulation is procedure where a device temporarily plays the role the function of the heart and lungs during cardiac surgery, maintaining the circulation of blood through body.

3. What if hypertension is untreated?

Heart attack or stroke because of atherosclerosis which may block blood flow into the arteries.
Aneurysm. Increased blood pressure can weaken and bulge the arteries, forming an aneurysm. The rupture or the dissection of an aneurysm is life-threatening.
Heart failure. Heart need to work harder if the hypertension is not controlled. With the time the heart muscle will thicken, having a hard time pushing the blood. This will lead to heart failure.
Weakened and narrowed blood vessels in your kidneys. This can prevent these organs from functioning normally.
Thickened blood vessels of the eyes. This can lead in loss of vision.
Dementia. Narrowed arteries can reduce blood flow to the brain, leading to a certain type of dementia (vascular dementia). A stroke also can cause vascular dementia.

4. Home postoperative care after cardiac surgery.

Keep clean and dry the incisions and let your doctor know if there is any increased redness, swelling, warmth, fluid discharge, or pus.

Check the temperature twice daily for a week. A subfebrile fever is not uncommon, but if temperature is above 38°C call your doctor.

Weigh yourself every day. If you gain weight, that could be because of fluid retention which means you need adjustment of your medical therapy by the doctor.

Monitoring every day of blood pressure and heart rate it is very important. Unusually high or low readings should prompt a check-in with your doctor.

5. When is medical prevention needed for coronary heart disease?

Coronary heart disease often has no symptoms, so prevention is very important. Prevention helps the patient to avoid complications of the disease by significantly prolonging and improving the quality of life.

It is advisable to see your doctor, who will evaluate whether you are in the low or high risk category. Depending on the risk factors for coronary heart disease, your doctor will decide if you will be on a regular medical prevention plan.

If you belong to a low-risk category, usually you do not need specific medical prevention. However, it is worth noting that the right lifestyle and proper nutrition are recommended for everyone, regardless of risk factors.