Intervention – never the end of coronary artery disease treatment

  Interventional treatment for coronary artery disease uses catheter technology to access the coronary arteries through radial or femoral artery puncture, reopening the narrowed or occluded coronary arteries to restore normal blood flow and blood velocity to the coronary arteries, supplemented with stent support if necessary, so as to improve the blood supply to the myocardium. Interventional therapy has become one of the main treatments for coronary artery disease because of its minimally invasive, less painful, shorter procedure time, quicker postoperative recovery and positive clinical efficacy.   Coronary intervention can significantly improve the symptoms of chest tightness and chest pain caused by myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease, but it does not mean that the coronary artery disease has been completely cured after the intervention, and some patients may experience restenosis of the original lesion or new stenosis of other branches after a period of time after the intervention, which may aggravate the ischemia and hypoxia of the heart and lead to the recurrence of the disease. Therefore, interventional treatment is not a permanent solution, and postoperative maintenance treatment and care are equally important. Patients with coronary artery disease should do the following: 1. Follow medical advice and take medication on time ① Anti-platelet drugs: Within 1 year after interventional surgery, patients are usually advised to use dual anti-platelet drug therapy, that is, taking aspirin and clopidogrel at the same time to enhance the inhibitory effect on platelets, in order to consolidate the efficacy of surgery and reduce the chance of coronary artery restenosis. After 1 year, one of these drugs can be taken for life according to medical advice.  Statin lipid-lowering drugs: Statin drugs can not only lower the blood lipid level and delay the formation of coronary plaque, but also have the more important significance of stabilizing the plaque and preventing it from rupture to form thrombus, thus effectively reducing the occurrence of adverse cardiovascular time. Patients with coronary heart disease need to choose suitable statin lipid-lowering drugs according to medical advice and insist on taking them daily according to the dosage.   ③Glucose-lowering and antihypertensive drugs: Hypertension and diabetes are risk factors for coronary heart disease. Strict control of blood pressure and blood sugar is beneficial to the maintenance of the efficacy of interventional therapy and slowing down the development of coronary stenosis. Patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus should strictly adhere to the medication regimen given by the doctor and monitor the indexes regularly.  ④Emergency medications: Regardless of whether you have symptoms or not, it is necessary to keep emergency medications such as nitroglycerin and salvia drops on hand, which is also responsible for your life.  ⑤ Other drugs: sometimes doctors will prescribe some drugs to protect the gastrointestinal tract, such as omeprazole, pantoprazole, etc.; drugs to expand blood vessels, such as isosorbide mononitrate, etc.; drugs to improve myocardial metabolism, such as trimetazidine, etc.; and drugs against vasospasm, such as Hepesol, etc. These drugs also need to be used under the guidance of a doctor, and cannot be increased or decreased at will, so as not to cause recurrence of the disease.  2, quit smoking and drinking, control weight Smoking and drinking are important risk factors of coronary heart disease, coronary heart disease patients should ensure that they quit smoking and drinking after intervention, otherwise it is easy to accelerate the development of coronary stenosis, so that the effect of intervention is greatly reduced. In addition to ensuring a low-salt, low-sugar, low-fat diet, coronary heart disease patients can start moderate exercise 1 week to 1 month after the operation according to the body recovery, exercise to low-intensity aerobic exercise, such as walking, Tai Chi, etc., each time preferably not more than half an hour, 2-3 times a day.   3.Regular review and timely follow-up Within 3 months after the intervention, patients should have a monthly review in the specialist clinic to monitor the recovery of body functions and the response to medication after the operation, so as to ensure that the doctor can detect and deal with the adverse events in time. Long-term postoperative medication may cause adverse reactions, such as long-term oral antiplatelet drugs may increase the risk of bleeding, statins may cause transaminase elevation, etc. Therefore, patients should have a review every 3 months to 1 year after 3 months. 1 year after surgery, patients should have a coronary angiography review so that the surgeon can have a visual impression of the long-term results of the procedure and also to enable early detection and management of restenosis of the lesion. After 1 year postoperatively, patients should ensure a review at least once every 6 months in order to understand the development of the regression of the disease.