Heart Surgery During the Pandemic, What Should You Know?

Jakarta: WHO shows that coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world in 2015. The risk factors for heart disease are the same as hypertension and stroke, namely that there are things that cannot be changed (age, gender, heredity / race).

As well as those that can be changed (lack of physical activity, obesity, unhealthy diet, stress, alcohol consumption, smoking, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus).

In general, symptoms of coronary heart disease including cold sweats, chest pain, a feeling of heaviness and pressure in the chest, and nausea or pain on the gut. If you experience these symptoms, consult a doctor immediately.

“Most people are not aware of the symptoms and many think they just ‘catch a cold’,” said dr. Muhammad Arza Putra, Sp.BTKV (K) who is also the Director of Medical Services at RSUI.

Heart Bypass Surgery (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft / CABG) can be a treatment therapy for coronary heart disease.

This is done by connecting healthy blood vessels as new “pathways” for blood flow to blocked or narrowed blood vessels.

Not all patients can have bypass surgery. Some of the criteria are patients with severe narrowing of blood vessels or blockage of heart / coronary arteries, narrowing occurring in more than three heart / coronary arteries, severe chest pain, and heart attack that cannot be treated with drug therapy.

(Dr. Muhammad Arza Putra, Sp.BTKV (K) as Director of Medical Services RSUI said that people are less aware of the symptoms of heart disease and many think they just ‘catch a cold’. Photo: Illustration / Freepik.com)

The team of doctors will also carry out a detailed examination before deciding whether the patient needs heart surgery or not.

Of era pandemic covid-19, patients who are going to carry out heart surgery must be sure that they are not infected with Covid-19. If you suffer from Covid-19, heart surgery postponed for at least seven weeks after recovering from covid-19.

“Covid-19 can cause heart damage and needs repair for several weeks after recovery, if the operation is carried out in a hurry it can increase the risk of complications,” said Dr. Arza.

“The team of doctors will first ensure that the patient has recovered from Covid-19, so that the operation can be planned at the right time,” added dr. Arza.

Dr. Arza explained several things that must be considered before heart surgery, including:

(1) stop smoking two weeks before surgery
(2) stop the use of blood thinners before surgery
(3) comprehensive examinations such as heart records, X-rays, and laboratory before surgery
(4) fasting one day before surgery
(5) Covid-19 PCR swabs before elective / scheduled surgery

All surgery-related information will be explained to the patient before surgery.

(BELIEVE)

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