Dr. Rishi Puri, MD, PhD

Heart attacks typically feel like pain or pressure in the chest that can radiate out to the back, arm, or jaw. Some other symptoms can include fatigue or weakness, shortness of breath, sweating, and nausea.

Treatment aims to increase blood flow to the heart muscle by opening up blocked blood vessels. Medications are sometimes used to dissolve clots in the arteries. Aspirin and other medications such as Plavix can thin the blood and make clots less likely to form. Dilators can widen blood vessels to make room for more blood to flow. Doctors can also use a procedure called catheterization to look at the blood vessels around the heart directly, place stents, or widen vessels using angioplasty. In extreme cases bypass surgery can be used to help blood flow better. After recovery, it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle and take any prescribed medications in order to protect the heart.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. This includes coronary artery disease, heart attacks, congestive heart failure, and congenital heart disease. Some conditions, such as genetics, cannot be controlled. But there are many other things one can do to lower their risk for heart disease. Controlling high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reducing or stopping smoking, exercising more and losing weight if needed, and eating a diet low in sodium can all protect the heart.

Angina is a squeezing type of chest pain that happens when the muscles around the heart don't get enough oxygen. It can be regular or infrequent. Usually, angina is caused by coronary heart disease. However, not all chest pain is angina. Chest pain can also be caused by a lung infection or panic attack, for example, so it is important to have any sudden pain checked.

Arrhythmia is the word for when the heart beats too fast, too slow, or irregularly with skipped beats. It can feel frightening, and depending on the type it can be dangerous, but in most cases arrhythmia is not serious and can be treated. It is very common, especially in older adults.

Heart valve problems can happen in any one of the the heart's four valves that keep blood flowing where it needs to go. Babies can be born with problems in their heart valves, or valves can be damaged by infections. The valves can stiffen and become less mobile, or they can stop closing properly and 'leak' when the heart beats. Valve problems can usually be repaired surgically.

An intra-aortic balloon pump is a small, sausage-shaped balloon at the end of a catheter, or very thin, flexible tube. An incision is made (usually in the groin), and the deflated balloon and catheter are threaded through an artery to the aorta, the large main artery that takes oxygen-filled blood from the heart to the rest of the body. The pump can also be placed during open-heart surgery. If this is the case, it is positioned directly into the aorta. Once in place, the balloon inflates and deflates in rhythm with the heart. When it inflates, it pushes blood back towards the heart to help the heart muscle get enough oxygen and fill correctly. When the IABP deflates, just before the heart contracts, it lowers the pressure in the aorta slightly. This helps move blood away from the heart and into the body.

An IABP is a short-term solution, used for only hours or up to a few weeks at most. The pump is powered and controlled by a computer outside the body, so during treatment patients must remain lying down in their hospital bed. Insertion of the device is performed at a cardiac catheterization lab or operating room, and patients with an intra-aortic balloon pump often stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). While it is not a particularly painful treatment, it is common for patients to hear and feel the balloon inflating and deflating within their chest, which can be unsettling. However, IABP is a safe and effective treatment for supporting the heart.