Slidell Memorial Hospital Cardiology Services Heart Health Series: Part 4

Heart Disease: a variety of diseases with consistent treatment goals, part 4.

In parts one and two of our series on heart health, we covered prevention and detection of heart disease. The third discussed treatment options and considerations for patients who suffer from coronary artery disease, heart failure, heart arrhythmias, and heart valve disease.

In this, the fourth and final part of our series, we address the remaining types of heart disease: pericardial disease, cardiomyopathy, and congenital heart disease.

Pericardial Disease

Pericardial disease, or pericarditis, is inflammation of any of the layers of the pericardium. The pericardium is a thin tissue sac that surrounds the heart.

Pericarditis often subsides on its own, but can also be treated with anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin or, in severe cases, corticosteroid hormones. Occasionally, your cardiologist recommends draining fluid from the pericardium using a long, thin needle inserted carefully through the chest.

If your condition becomes chronic, your physician may surgically create a pericardial window to drain the fluid. In the rare event pericarditis becomes too severe, your cardiologist will recommend removing the pericardial sac completely.

Cardiomyopathy (Heart Muscle Disease)

This is a type of progressive heart disease that causes abnormal enlargement of the heart, or thickening and stiffening of the walls. The heart is thus less efficient at pumping blood, which can in turn cause heart failure and blood backup into the lungs or rest of the body.

Cardiomyopathy sometimes causes abnormal heart rhythms, as well. Your treatment will depend upon the underlying cause, but often includes the same measures used for patients with heart failure.The outcome is also dependent upon the underlying cause. As with heart failure, sometimes your cardiologist will recommend heart transplant.

Congenital Heart Disease

For the majority of patients with congenital heart disease, the cause is unknown. Congenital heart disease includes conditions caused by abnormalities that occur before birth, while the fetus is developing.

Sometimes symptoms appear right away, at birth, other times they don’t appear until later in childhood, or even until adulthood. There are even cases that remain asymptomatic and are only discovered by accident during testing for other conditions, or even during routine physical examinations.

About 500,000 adults in the U.S. have congenital heart disease and, as with all the other forms of heart disease, the treatment your cardiologist recommends will vary depending upon the type of abnormality you have.

A minor condition may actuallyclear up on its own, or can be treated easily with medications.More complex abnormalities can often be treated surgically, if necessary.Very rarely, the heart problem is so severe that it cannot be corrected, and instead your doctor will recommend treatment to manage symptoms if they appear.

Seek out comprehensive cardiology services

Not only are there different types of heart disease, there are many sub-types of each, and treatment needs to be based on the specific type, sub-type, and cause of disease you have. Often, patients need treatment for multiple types simultaneously. Therefore, careful coordination by physicians who can offer comprehensive cardiology services is vital to achieving the best possible outcomes.

The SMH Heart Center is just such a facility. As SMH Cardiology, Medical Director Vasanth K. Bethala, who is also a cardiologist with The Cardiology Institute, points out, "The benefit to patients comes not from one thing alone but from the comprehensive services, door to discharge, given by one continuous team of caregivers.”

We offer two full-service cath labs, two full-service Heart Surgery Suites, off-pump bypass, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery, valve replacement, pacemaker implantation, and many other cutting-edge surgical, critical care, and cardiology services to choose from.

When it comes to treating heart disease, Slidell Memorial is simply the most experienced in cardiac services on the Northshore, and consistently being first to offer new, innovative services in cardiac care.

To learn more about the different types of heart disease, check out the American Heart Association website here, or schedule an appointment with one of the cardiologists at the SMH Heart Center, where we put you at the center of all we do!

As a 229-bed acute care hospital located in the heart of Slidell, LA, Slidell Memorial Hospital provides access to cardiology services, as well as the latest treatments, technology and expert physicians.