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Cardiology
Cardiology
Heart Disease Definition:
Heart Disease/Cardiovascular disease refers to conditions that involve narrowed/blocked blood vessels, causing heart attacks.
Heart Disease Includes:
- Coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and heart attacks
- Stroke
- Heart failure
- Hypertension
Symptoms of Heart Disease:
- Chest Pain - Tightnes/Pressure in chest
- Stomach Pain - Burning or Indigestion-type of pain
- Feeling hot and sweating
- Leg pain - cramping sensation in calves
- Choking Sensation
- Irregular heartbeat
- Swollen ankles
- Exhaustion
Causes of Heart Disease
- High blood pressure
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- Lack of exercise
- Obesity
- High blood cholesterol
- Poor diet
- Excessive alcohol consumption
Risks that are difficult to prevent:
- Age - the risk of getting heart disease is proportional to one's age
- Genetics - Having relatives with heart disease increases the risk of heart disease being passed down
- Gender - Men are at a greater risk of having heart disease compared to women
Prevention of Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Yet, it is estimated that 90% of heart disease is preventable. Prevention of atherosclerosis involves improving risk factors through: healthy eating, exercise, avoidance of tobacco smoke and limiting alcohol intake. Going for regular health screenings (Blood pressure/ Cholesterol levels/ Diabetes) is also a good habit to inculcate.
Treating risk factors, such as high blood pressure, blood lipids and diabetes is also beneficial.
Interesting Articles
Recent Questions
Is a cholesterol ratio of 5.6 serious?
To know the number of Total cholesterol alone is not adequate. This is because Total cholesterol = bad cholesterol + good cholesterol. Therefore a high level of Total cholesterol may be due to a high value in bad cholesterol (which is undesirable); or may be due to high level in good cholesterol (which is desirable). So, the Ratio in dividing Total cholesterol by good cholesterol (ie. Total C/HDL-C), will give a better assessment of a person’s cardiovascular risk. In general, a Ratio of < 3. 5 (some recommend 4. 0) is desirable, while ratio of equal or > 3. 5 (some recommend 4.
does SCAD always show up on an ECG or x-ray?
So, as the name suggests, SCAD (Spontaneous coronary artery dissection) is spontaneous. It happens suddenly, so if we are talking about whether it shows up on ECG, then yes, only if you happen to do the ECG at the moment of symptom. Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection depends on when or where it occurs. If it occurs in a certain territory in the heart that the ECG can reflect on, then it can show up as an ECG sign. Because it is acute, it's almost like an acute heart attack because the dissection can potentially occlude the artery, but otherwise, it can't be seen. You can go for a CT scan.
Recent Sessions
When Chest Pains are a Warning: Intervention for Heart Conditions
Ended on August 12, 2020
hostedBy
Dr Teck Kee Ang CardiologistDr Ang Teck Kee is a Consultant and Interventional Cardiologist with more than 15 years of clinical experience. He graduated from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2004 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). He obtained his post-graduate Internal Medicine degree, Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (United Kingdom) in 2010.
Dr Ang underwent his Cardiology Advanced Specialty Training in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), Singapore from 2011-2014 and was accredited by Singapore Medical Council (SMC) and Ministry of Health Singapore (MOHS) as a specialist in Cardiology in 2014.
In 2016, he was awarded the Human Manpower Development Program (HMDP) scholarship by MOH to further sub-specialise in the field of Interventional Cardiology at Liverpool District Hospital, New South Wales, Sydney. He spent a year under the mentorship of world-renown Professors and experts in Interventional Cardiology and was trained in the latest advances in the Interventional Cardiology arena.
Heart Palpitations: Are They Always Abnormal?
Ended on July 29, 2020
hostedBy
Dr Teck Kee Ang CardiologistDr Ang Teck Kee is a Consultant and Interventional Cardiologist with more than 15 years of clinical experience. He graduated from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2004 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). He obtained his post-graduate Internal Medicine degree, Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (United Kingdom) in 2010. Dr Ang underwent his Cardiology Advanced Specialty Training in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), Singapore from 2011-2014 and was accredited by Singapore Medical Council (SMC) and Ministry of Health Singapore (MOHS) as a specialist in Cardiology in 2014. He subsequently returned to Singapore in 2017, working as a Certified Senior Interventional Cardiologist, providing 24/7 acute heart attack interventional service in KTPH. He has since taught and mentored up and coming Interventional Cardiology fellows rotating through KTPH Cardiology in his role as an Interventional Cardiologist in KTPH. To date, he has performed more than 3,000 invasive coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention procedures, mostly through the less invasive radial (wrist) artery approach. He is very well versed in the use of ultrasound guided puncture of artery, which is extremely useful in certain subset of patients with difficult to access arterial system.
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