{"id":2185,"date":"2009-02-23T11:56:16","date_gmt":"2009-02-23T11:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bargh.co.uk\/blog\/?p=89"},"modified":"2009-02-23T11:56:16","modified_gmt":"2009-02-23T11:56:16","slug":"medication-post-heart-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/medication-post-heart-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"Medication post Heart Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

…continued<\/em><\/p>\n

Nothing can really prepare you for the life changes following a heart attack. Apart from the uncertainty of the future, the restructure of life-style and diet, one of the main changes is medication.<\/p>\n

For someone who refused to take tablets when I had a headache or pain, suddenly been told you have to take several, for life, is quite a shock, well not as big a shock as a\u00a0 heart attack, but still.<\/p>\n

Post heart attack there are several things that need to be controlled. In my case these can be split into four areas and involve taking five tablets-<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Blood Pressure (using ace inhibitor)<\/li>\n
  2. Blood thickness\/clotting ability (using aspirin and anti-platelet drug)<\/li>\n
  3. Cholesterol (using statin)<\/li>\n
  4. Heart rate (using beta-blocker)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ace-inhibitor<\/strong>
    \nBlood pressure is reduced using an ace inhibitor. Ace stands for Angiotensin Converting Enzyme. This drug reduces the activity of this enzyme, making arteries relax and widen, so the blood can travel under less pressure. The effect is your heart receives more oxygen.\u00a0I take Ramipril.<\/p>\n

    Possible side effects
    \nDrowsiness
    \nDizziness
    \nLightheadedness
    \nDry cough<\/p>\n

    Anti Platelet<\/strong>
    \nBlood clotting is one of the main causes of a heart attack. Blood clots in a narrowed artery and blocks the path so the heart cannot function correctly.\u00a0 The reason for this is that the platelets (small blood cells that clump together to form a clot) are sticky. Anti-platelet drugs reduce the stickiness. I now take Asprin and Clopidogrel.<\/p>\n

    Possible side effects
    \nIndigestion
    \nNausea
    \nVomiting
    \nStomach bleeding<\/p>\n

    Statin<\/strong>
    \nCholesterol is seen to be a serious problem for our bodies. There are two types – one good one bad. The statin’s job is to reduce the cholesterol level but we can make big diet changes to reduce cholesterol naturally. Well, balance it actually, because the good cholesterol has important role – more about this when I touch on diet in a future blog
    \nI take simvastatin,\u00a0 the other common option is atorvastatin<\/p>\n

    Possible side effects
    \nSick feeling
    \nvomiting
    \ndiarrhoea
    \nheadache<\/p>\n

    Beta blocker<\/strong>
    \nReduces the amount of work the heart has to do slowing it down this reducing the risk of failure. It’s like driving at 56mph in a car. You get better petrol consumption and there’s less chance of blowing a gasket\u00a0 (or what ever the mechanical\/electronic term is today).
    \nThis drug blocks the affect of naturally occurring substances called catecholamines. I take Bisoprolol<\/p>\n

    Possible side effects (minor)
    \nTiredness
    \nFatigue
    \nCold hands and\/or feet
    \nDisturbed sleep
    \nDepression and or anxiety
    \nShortness of breath<\/p>\n

    I also have a Nitrate spray which I have to carry should I get an attack of angina. This spray (sprayed under the tongue) instantly reduces the muscles in the walls of arteries so the blood supply to the heart increases and it gets a quick dose of oxygen.<\/p>\n

    Other medication you may be prescribed
    \nCalcium channel blockers
    \nAnticoagulants
    \nAnti-arrhythmic drugs
    \nDiuretics
    \nPotassium channel activators
    \nSo lots of drugs and many times more potential side-effects. Fortunately I have just three…cold feet and hands, shakiness (a feeling of lack of sugar type of shaky not nervous) and un-restful sleep pattern<\/p>\n

    next time I’ll look at diet changes<\/p>\n

    …to be continued<\/em><\/p>\n

    ps: this is just a light guide of my observations please seek correct medical advice should you need it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    …continued Nothing can really prepare you for the life changes following a heart attack. Apart from the uncertainty of the future, the restructure of life-style and diet, one of the main changes is medication. For someone who refused to take tablets when I had a headache or pain, suddenly been told you have to take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[708],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bargh.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}