Depression and Coranary Heart Disease
Depression is now considered a major health problem, particularly those health problems related to heart disease. It is now important to recognize that depression is directly linked with heart disease. Depression is an illness that can affect anyone at any time. Research shows that depression is extremely common with people who have coronary heart disease. Depression is known to increase the risk of further heart problems in people with coronary disease. Depression is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Depression is sometimes under recognized and under treated. Depression once diagnosed can be treated efficiently.
What is depression?
Depression is not only a low mood or feeling sad, it is a recognized and often life threatening illness. People with depression generally feel sad, down or miserable most of the time. They find it hard to do normal activities and functions from day to day. Depression has serious effects on physical as well as mental health. Depression is a very common illness that affects millions of people throughout the world.
What are the treatments for depression?
Exercise programs have been shown to have a huge impact on people with cardiac conditions. Light through to moderate exercise programs have been shown to have wonderful results for people with the less severe types of depression. However more severe types of depression require different types of treatment and it is important to know then treating depression, there are effective psychological or pharmaceutical treatments.
Psychological treatments look at issues which relate particularly to people with depression. These include such things as altering negative patterns of thinking or sorting out relationship difficulties.
Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is to correct the way people think and Interpersonal therapy (IPT) to improve relationships between people. Depression is not a transferable disease and an illness which needs to be understood more today as so many people throughout the globe are affected by it
What is Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery?
This is a type of heart surgery. It's sometimes called CABG ("cabbage").
The surgery reroutes, or "bypasses," blood around clogged arteries to improve blood flow and oxygen to the heart. The arteries that bring blood to the heart muscle (coronary arteries) can become clogged by plaque (a buildup of fat, cholesterol plus other substances). This can then slow or stop blood flow through the heart's blood vessels, leading to chest pain or a heart attack. Increasing blood flow to the heart muscle can relieve chest pain and also reduce the risk of heart attack.
Surgeons take a segment of a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body, and then make a detour around the blocked part of the coronary artery. An artery may be detached from the chest wall and the open end attached to the coronary artery below the blocked area. Or a piece of a long vein in your leg may be taken. One end is sewn onto the large artery leaving your heart - the aorta. The other end of the vein is attached or "grafted" to the coronary artery below the blocked area.
Either way, blood can then utilize use this new path to flow freely to the heart muscle. A patient may undergo one, two, three or more bypass grafts, depending on how many coronary arteries are blocked.
Cardiopulmonary bypass with a pump oxygenator (heart-lung machine) is used for most coronary bypass graft operations. This means that besides the surgeon, a team made up of a cardiac anesthesiologist and surgical nurse, a competent perfusionist (blood flow specialist) are required.
What happens after bypass surgery?
After surgery, the patient is moved to a hospital bed in the cardiac surgical intensive care unit. Heart rate and blood pressure monitoring devices continuously monitor the patient for 12 to 24 hours.