Frequently Asked Questions

Some of the information below is adapted from the American Heart Association guidelines.

See americanheart.org for more details.

  1. What are most common risk factors for developing heart disease?

    2. The following is a list of most common risk factors for developing heart disease. Note that many of these can be controlled with appropriate lifestyle modification and treatment with medications.

    • High LDL (bad) cholesterol
    • Low HDL (good) cholesterol
    • High blood pressure
    • Physical inactivity
    • Diabetes
    • Tobacco smoke
    • Age – being a man 45 years or older; being a woman 55 years or order
    • Heredity – family history of coronary artery disease
  1. What is Hypertension? What can I do to control it?

    2. When your heart beats, it pumps blood into your arteries and creates pressure in them. This pressure (blood pressure) causes your blood to flow to all parts of your body. Two numbers are recorded when measuring your blood pressure, such as 120/80 mmHg. The top number (systolic pressure) measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The bottom number (diastolic pressure) measures the pressure while your heart rests between beats.

    High blood pressure, also called hypertension, usually has no symptoms. That’s why it is called the “silent killer”. The table below can help you determine if your blood pressure is normal:

    Blood Pressure Category Systolic (mmHg)   Diastolic (mmHg)
    Normal Less than 120 And Less than 80
    Pre hypertension 120-139 Or 80-89
    Hypertension, Stage 1 140-159 Or 90-99
    Hypertension, State 2 160 or higher Or 100 or higher

    Source: Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Detection of High Blood Pressure

    You can control the following risk factors for hypertension:

    • Obesity – People with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher are more likely to develop high blood pressure
    • Eating too much salt
    • Alcohol – Heavy and regular use of alcohol can increase blood pressure dramatically
    • Lack of exercise
    • Stress

    Medication – Some people need medication to help them reduce high blood pressure. Many drugs are available for this. Some get rid of excess fluid and salt. Others open up narrowed blood vessels. Talk to your doctor about which one is right for you.

  1. What is Cholesterol? What do HDL and LDL values mean?

    2. Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like substance found in the bloodstream and body’s cells. Cholesterol is part of a healthy body, but too much of it in your blood is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Your total blood cholesterol will fall into one of the following categories:

    Total cholesterol level Category
    Less than 200 mg/dL Desirable
    200-239 mg/dL Borderline high
    240 mg/dL and above High cholesterol

    Cholesterol moves through your bloodstream in special carriers called lipoproteins. There are many kinds of lipoproteins. The two you need to know are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

    LDL (“bad” cholesterol) carries about 60-80% of the cholesterol in your blood. When you have too much of it, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries and can form plaque. This narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow through them. In general, an LDL level of less than 100 mg/dL is considered optimal. The higher your LDL cholesterol level, and the more risk factors you have (besides LDL cholesterol), the greater your chances of developing heart disease.

    HDL (“good” cholesterol) carries about 25-30% of your blood cholesterol. HDL is called the good cholesterol because a high level of it seems to lower your risk of heart attack and stroke. An HDL level of 60 mg/dL and above is considered protective against heart disease. The opposite is also true: a low HDL cholesterol level (less than 40 mg/dL) is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

  1. What is cardiac Catheterization? What options are there if the doctor find blockage in the coronary arteries?

    2. A cardiac catheterization is a procedure performed in a hospital that examines the heart. During this procedure, a physician can take pictures of the arteries, measure pressures inside the heart, and assess how well the heart is pumping.

    The heart’s pumping requires energy. The heart’s muscle (myocardium) requires oxygen to generate this energy. Specialized blood vessels called the coronary arteries carry the oxygen-rich blood to the myocardium. When blockages develop in the coronary arteries, the heart can’t get enough oxygen-rich blood, particularly during moderate or strenuous activity. When this happens, chest pain or even a heart attack can occur.

    During the cardiac catheterization, special catheters (long, thin plastic tubes) may be threaded up to the heart to measure certain pressures in the heart chambers. After that, specially shaped catheters will be threaded up to the heart and to the left main coronary artery. A special iodine-based X-Ray dye is injected into the left main coronary artery and its branches. An X-Ray camera is rotated or moved around the patient to give different views of the coronary arteries.

    Cardiac catheterization is relatively safe. Still, there is a small risk (less than 1 in 250 procedures) of bleeding, infection, allergic reaction to dye, or kidney failure. In an average patient, the risk of severe complication such as stroke, heart attack and even death is low (about 1 in 1000 procedures).

    Three general forms of treatment exist for patients who are found to have significant blockages in their coronary arteries:

    • Medications – Beta blockers, Nitrates, and Calcium channel blockers
    • Coronary Angioplasty – Insertion of a small wire mesh tube called a Stent into the blocked artery
    • Bypass Surgery – During this open-heart operation, veins from a leg or an artery from the chest wall are used to “byass” the blockages in the coronary arteries.

  1. How do I know if your doctor is on my insurance plan?

    2. Plano Heart Center accepts most major insurance plans including but not limited to Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, United Healthcare, Humana, Fiserv, Unicare, PHCS, GEHA, and Medicare. However, it is best to call our office (Contact Us) for more information and to make sure that we accept your insurance.

 

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