Types of Alternative Treatments for Bypass Surgery

Heart bypass surgery or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a common treatment used to treat a variety of heart conditions. It entails grafting a graft from a healthy artery or vein to the blocked artery. The procedure is used to treat coronary artery disease.

A few people, however, do not want to go through a surgical operation. More alternatives to heart bypass surgery have been available in the last decade. These are some of them:

1. EECP

Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) is a non-invasive treatment that reduces the number and severity of angina attacks. EECP has been proved to be a successful therapeutic technique for improving patients’ quality of life.

The EECP treatment compresses the blood arteries in your lower limbs softly but strongly to enhance blood flow to your heart. Each wave of pressure is precisely timed to the heartbeat, ensuring that the increased blood flow reaches your heart just as it begins to relax. Pressure is released instantly as the heart pumps again. This reduces resistance in the blood veins in your legs, allowing blood to flow more freely from your heart.

EECP may cause blood vessels to create tiny channels that acquire additional branches as a result of the treatment. These collaterals or channels might become “natural bypass” veins in the future, allowing blood to flow to the heart muscle. This helps in the alleviation of angina symptoms.

2. Chelation therapy

Chelation treatment is a chemical procedure that involves injecting a synthetic solution called EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) into the circulation to remove heavy metals and/or minerals from the body. Chelation is a term that means “to grasp” or “to bind.”

When heavy metals and minerals such as lead, mercury, copper, iron, arsenic, aluminium, and calcium are injected into the veins, EDTA “grabs” them and removes them from the body. This assists in the treatment of coronary heart disease. Its proponents believe that it may regenerate the heart and blood arteries, enhance liver and kidney function, boost cerebral blood flow, and more.

3. Balloon angioplasty

Doctors are more likely to propose balloon angioplasty as an alternative. A tube is inserted through your clogged artery during this procedure. The artery is then widened with the use of a tiny balloon. The tube and balloon are then removed by the doctor. A stent, which is a tiny metal scaffold, will be left in place. The artery is kept from constricting back to its previous size by a stent. Balloon angioplasty is less hazardous than cardiac bypass surgery, but it isn’t as successful.

Medications

Before turning to procedures like heart bypass surgery, there are various drugs you may try. Beta-blockers can help with stable angina. To prevent plaque accumulation in your arteries, you can take cholesterol-lowering medications. A daily dosage of low-dose aspirin (baby aspirin) may also be recommended by your doctor to help avoid heart attacks.

In those with a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, aspirin treatment is particularly beneficial (such as heart attack or stroke).Those who have never taken aspirin before should only use it as a preventative measure if they are at a greater risk of having a heart attack or developing other atherosclerotic cardiovascular disorders

There’s also a minimal chance of bleeding. These drugs can help manage some of the symptoms of coronary heart disease while also lowering the chance of the illness worsening.

Dietary Changes & Lifestyle Modifications

Following the suggestions for nutrition, exercise, and other habits can help you manage your heart failure symptoms, delay the course of your condition, and improve your quality of life. As a result, patients with mild to moderate heart failure may typically lead very normal lives. You can lessen plaques by losing weight, exercising more, or eating fewer cholesterol-rich meals, but these measures will not erase existing plaques.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is key to improving heart health. Healthy practises will aid in the prevention of plaque formation.

Eat a heart-healthy diet:

• Increase your intake of good fats
• Saturated fat sources, such as fatty meat and dairy, should be avoided. Choose lean cuts of meat and incorporate more plant-based dishes into your diet.
• Trans fats from artificial sources should be avoided.
• Increase your fibre consumption.
• Sugar consumption should be reduced.

Lifestyle changes may include the following:

• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Shedding a few extra pounds
• Caffeine should be avoided or consumed in moderation.
• Being physically active.
• Quit smoking and drinking
• Stress management.
• Getting enough sleep

Patients suffering from heart blockages may now rest easy thanks to the improvement of the above-mentioned safe and effective procedures. The most important thing, though, is to modify your lifestyle and get examined at regular intervals. It is also critical to be aware of heart attack symptoms and the first assistance that should be administered, as the first hour following a heart attack is critical to the patient’s survival. It is possible to save lives by raising awareness.