what are the ischemic changes in the heart caused by poor, weakened, or deteriorated small blood vessels?

Question

I have stable/unstable angina due to my small bloodvessels being weak and deterioating before bringing adequate blood supply to my heart. It caused chest pain andpotential heart attack risks.What are good treatments for this disease. My mother apparently had a similar problem and died at the early age of 56. How can I get help?

Answer 1

Well you should be evaluated by your physician and get serial CPK's and an EKG done to see if any damage has occurred. They should refer you to a cardiologist to further evaluate your heart function by echo-cardiogram, stress test and other labs such as an NPA level (an indicator of congestive heart failure) If you have damage then they may perform a heart cath in which they insert a catheter to measure numbers given off my each ventricle and your pulmonary artery. It will also determine how much blockage you have in your coronary arteries. Then they will decide whether you need stents or open heart surgery. Just to let you know, more stents are being performed these days and they are less riskier than bypass surgery. In the meantime your doctor may prescribe medications such as aspirin or beta blockers to reduce the risk/damage if a heart attack occurs.
Other ways to lower you risk.. maintain a healthy weight, don't smoke, drink alcohol in moderation, control your blood pressure and cholesterol, watch your saturated fat and salt intake, exercise and enjoy life. Heredity plays a major factor in heart disease. Unfortunately, we cannot change our genes but we can modify our lifestyles.

Answer 2

Angina is substernal (underneath the sternum) chest pain caused by insufficient oxygen supply to the heart. It could be radiating to the L arm or jaw. It is caused by a blockage of one or more of the coronary artery. If not treated may cause a heart attack which could be fatal.It may or may not occur at rest (Unstable angina). It may be aggravated by exertion and intake of fatty foods after heavy meals. Usually, a nitrates is given (ISDN,ISMN)-which is a potent vasodilator (making the blood vessels enlarge) to have a good blood flow. If a there is a concomitant hypertension , one has to take anti-hypertensive drug usually which slows down the heart rate. One can also take clot busters such as aspirin. Several diagnostic workup is needed such as ECG, 2-D Echo, Angiogram. If medical management fail, a surgery is opted via Angioplasty or Coronary Artery Bypass Graft.

Answer 3

talk to a doctor. since it sounds more like a hereditary disorder rather than something caused by poor dieting and excersize/lifestyle, the treatments are probably going to differ somewhat than for someone who is at risk for a heart attack.