Awareness on Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS)
Just what is acute coronary syndrome? According to Dr. Anthony, it refers to "a constellation of symptoms". These include chest pain which comes on suddenly (acute in onset), maybe even at rest in a patient at high risk to develop heart disease. At the emergency room, the patient has to undergo an electrocardiogram (ECG), said Leachon, "to rule out myocardial infarction, which in layman's term, is heart attack."
Aside from that, the patient will have to have his blood checked for cardiac markers, he told "Top Story" on ANC on Thursday. He said the clinical abstract on Ampatuan's condition showed that "the complete diagnosis is acute coronary syndrome, unstable angina, hypertensive cardiovascular disease." Unstable angina, explained the doctor, is a warning sign before a heart attack. "It's a warning sign but still an indication considering the risk factors of the patient (with hypertension, diabetes, stress, and anxiety)," he said. The cardiologist, he said, will have to admit such a patient either in an intensive care unit or coronary care unit so he can be observed further. "We need serial ECGs and then perhaps every 6 hours, you have to draw blood," he said.
He is confident in the diagnosis of Ampatuan made by his cardiologist, Dr. Danny, at the Heart Center. "He's a friend, esteemed colleague, a distinguished one, one of the first interventional cardiologists in the country. Dr. Cuizon is a very reputable and skilled cardiologist. In fact his specialty is this one, he does angiogram and angioplasty, very senior cardiologist," said the doctor.
He added that doctors should treat patients regardless of their status. "Fugitive or not, friend or foe, the doctor should actually entertain for the benefit of the doubt. He explained that the patient with acute coronary syndrome should be subjected to a gamut of tests, such as an angiogram. The angiogram, however, should not be done when a patient shows high blood pressure, as in the case of Ampatuan.
A coronary angiogram will show if there are blockages in the blood vessels. According to Kuizon, if only 1 or 2 vessels show blockages, you can dilate them and put a stent." This will require a patient to stay perhaps for 2-3 days in the hospital. But if findings show that there is severe heart disease, and if the patient is diabetic (as in Ampatuan's case), this may require a heart bypass, which will entail a longer hospital stay, he said.
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Aside from that, the patient will have to have his blood checked for cardiac markers, he told "Top Story" on ANC on Thursday. He said the clinical abstract on Ampatuan's condition showed that "the complete diagnosis is acute coronary syndrome, unstable angina, hypertensive cardiovascular disease." Unstable angina, explained the doctor, is a warning sign before a heart attack. "It's a warning sign but still an indication considering the risk factors of the patient (with hypertension, diabetes, stress, and anxiety)," he said. The cardiologist, he said, will have to admit such a patient either in an intensive care unit or coronary care unit so he can be observed further. "We need serial ECGs and then perhaps every 6 hours, you have to draw blood," he said.
He is confident in the diagnosis of Ampatuan made by his cardiologist, Dr. Danny, at the Heart Center. "He's a friend, esteemed colleague, a distinguished one, one of the first interventional cardiologists in the country. Dr. Cuizon is a very reputable and skilled cardiologist. In fact his specialty is this one, he does angiogram and angioplasty, very senior cardiologist," said the doctor.
He added that doctors should treat patients regardless of their status. "Fugitive or not, friend or foe, the doctor should actually entertain for the benefit of the doubt. He explained that the patient with acute coronary syndrome should be subjected to a gamut of tests, such as an angiogram. The angiogram, however, should not be done when a patient shows high blood pressure, as in the case of Ampatuan.
A coronary angiogram will show if there are blockages in the blood vessels. According to Kuizon, if only 1 or 2 vessels show blockages, you can dilate them and put a stent." This will require a patient to stay perhaps for 2-3 days in the hospital. But if findings show that there is severe heart disease, and if the patient is diabetic (as in Ampatuan's case), this may require a heart bypass, which will entail a longer hospital stay, he said.
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