CAD Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease also know as “heart disease,” develops when the major blood vessels that supply your heart with blood, called the coronary arteries become damaged or diseased. Normally, the coronary arteries are smooth and elastic vessels permitting blood, oxygen and nutrients to travel to the heart muscle to be used by the heart itself. Heart disease occurs when plaque, a waxy substance made of cholesterol deposits, forms inside the walls of coronary arteries. This creates blockages to blood flow. Another name for the plaque build-up is atherosclerosis. This can occur over an extended period of time. The plaques that accumulate, narrow the interior of coronary arteries, so that your heart receives less blood. The heart, starved for the vital nutrients and oxygen in the blood, will not pump properly. Eventually, the decreased blood flow may cause chest pain, also known as angina, shortness of breath and other symptoms. A complete blockage can cause a heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction or “MI”.

There are a few ways this can happen. An area of plaque may break off from inside an artery, when it breaks off, a hole is created in the plaque wall and blood clots in the area fill the hole. A large clot can cause complete blockage or the traveling plaque can cause blockage in another heart region. Plaques can also simply become so thick that they block the flow of blood.

When this happens, healthy heart tissue is replaced by scar tissue and may cause complicated and long lasting problems. The injury to heart muscle may result in heart beat irregularities called arrhythmias, which cause the heart to beat in ineffective ways, further limiting its ability to move blood around the body.

Arrhythmias may be treated with medication and/or special treatments or procedures. Some arrhythmias are life threatening and should be treated immediately.

Symptoms and Complications:

Depending on the types and degrees of your heart disease you may have some or many symptoms. Some of the more common ones are listed below, you should discuss your symptoms with your healthcare team:

1. Chest pains or discomfort (angina) either on exertion or at rest.

2. Swelling or “edema”- When the heart muscle is weakened it is unable to pump the blood out through the body. This results in it being difficult for the blood to move through the vessels very well in the areas that are far from the heart like the feet and legs. As the blood pools in these vessels, some of the fluids leak out of the vessels and into the tissues causing swelling.

3. Shortness of breath-. If the heart muscle is weakened, the blood may not get pushed through the lungs hard enough to pick up enough oxygen and drop off waste products.

4. Palpitations- (a feeling of skipped beats, flutters, or flip flops in your chest) or a pounding heart.

5. When the heart is unable to pump as well as it should, the oxygen in the blood doesn’t get around the body fast enough to supply enough oxygen to the tissues and organs. This can cause a variety of symptoms such as:

   • Dizziness

   • Stomach and bowel issues, poor appetite

   • Weakness or fatigue (feeling very tired)

Medical Oversight/Primary Care Provider

Your PCP provides care for your general health while at our facility. Your PCP may order medications and treatments that will manage your coronary artery disease and lower your risk for complications. Depending on underlying conditions, this may include reducing high blood pressure, controlling an irregular heartbeat, reducing the work of your heart, thinning the blood, reducing unhealthy blood lipids, removing extra body fluid, diabetic management, pain control, sleep remedies and smoking cessation modalities.

Professorial Clinical Staff

Nurses provide medications, assess and evaluate your recovery, monitor vital signs and observe the effects of the drugs ordered to control complications. High risk conditions may be managed by evaluating heart pain, fluid balance, weight, breathing and elimination patterns, skin condition, mood, and lab values. They are also there to try to help you keep the function and comfort you have by assuring you are assisted with activities of daily living as you are able.

Your Primary Care Provider may order therapy for you in the process of treatment. Below is a description of some of the goals of therapy that may be explored in your treatment plan.

Physical Therapist

These specialists evaluate strength, endurance, range of motion, gait abnormalities and sensory changes. They may create individualized programs to regain movement and balance as well as design exercise programs to improve strength, posture, or compensate for reduced abilities as a result of your coronary artery disease. The plan will be paced so that you are able to rest and recover from any weakness. Additionally, your vital signs may be monitored during exercise. Please make sure your therapist is aware of any pain, palpitations, anxiety or shortness of breath that you may be feeling.

Occupational Therapist

These professionals help residents gain strength and endurance to perform personal care, cooking, cleaning and performing domestic skills. They advise and instruct on the proper use and function of assistive devices, when applicable. Education may be provided on various ways to adapt at home, permitting safe and optimal functioning while living with coronary artery disease.

Speech-language Therapist

These consultants assist with challenge regarding memory, planning, comprehension, learning and other complex mental and social activities. They may assist residents struggling with eating and swallowing difficulties. The therapist may work with the facility dietary department to ensure food choices and consistencies are ordered to help meet your individual needs and preferences.

Other potential aspects of treatment include:

Social Service Staff

Provide emotional support for you and your loved ones and make referrals to try to meet social needs. It is not unusual after a heart attack or the diagnosis of coronary artery disease to have fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, sadness or a sense of grief for physical or mental losses. Our Social Workers strive to be compassionate and understanding. If you are feeling these types of feelings, please reach out for a Social Worker to hear your concerns.

We can make arrangements to contact your clergy or provide psychological counseling within our facility. These professionals can discuss your Goals, Advanced Care Planning, Advanced Directives to work to have your rights and personal decisions known.

Recreation Staff

Help residents develop and enjoy the use of leisure time. This can contribute to recovery by offering feelings of increased self esteem, reduce stress and enrich their quality of life. It is important to try and resume old hobbies or try your hand at a new one. Therapeutic activities can include painting, manipulating clay, gardening, playing cards, reading books, playing puzzles or simply socializing with other residents.

Dietician

This professional can assist you to achieve healthy living with coronary artery disease. The facility dietary and clinical staff will assist you in diet control and weight management. Additionally, it may be essential to modify lifestyle food choices and reduce saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol intake. Your primary care provider may prescribe medication to assist with lowering high levels of bad cholesterol with drugs called “Statins”. The clinical staff can meet with you to discuss lipid lowering therapy.

Management Staff

The management team is there to provide care and service for recovery. Please feel free to reach out make your needs known or let us know if there is any thing that we could do to make your stay better.