In the medical world, the term acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the main medical term for what we call a heart attack. This condition occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is cut off, causing a lot of damage to the heart muscle, also known as the cardiomyocyte. The damaged area of the heart is called coronary artery.
The damage to the coronary artery is due to the blood’s inability to flow smoothly into the heart. The symptoms of ACS are a pounding heart or a racing heart, pain in the chest, difficulty breathing, discomfort in the arm or leg, nausea, shortness of breath, palpitations and dizziness. All of these symptoms will point to the need for immediate attention.
Since most people with angina don’t have signs and symptoms that are identical to those of a heart attack, many tests will be run to rule out a heart attack. Once the doctor has ruled out a heart attack, he or she will use various tools to assess the damage to the heart, including x-rays, CAT scans, MRIs and blood tests.
If such tests show nothing unusual, the doctors will most likely recommend resting the patient. Many times, the condition will just go away after a few days, but in some cases it may become serious. A specialist will then order additional tests and then an angiogram may be ordered.
These types of tests are used to look for the location of the damaged coronary artery. The results from these tests will reveal whether the area is blocked or not. This procedure is called an angiogram.
An angiogram, which means “breathing in” is an imaging test that uses a catheter to deliver a certain type of light into the heart. This light is used to read the shape of the coronary artery, showing whether it is blocked or not. You may be able to see a picture of the damage with a computer-generated image or a real-time image.
The location of the damaged coronary artery is known as the presence or absence of coronary atherosclerosis. The presence of the condition is most often seen in young people, those who smoke, and those who have hypertension.
It is important to realize that there are other conditions that are very similar to acute coronary syndrome. Those who are at high risk for angina should be checked out by their doctor.
In addition, the presence of heart murmurs is another common test that can indicate the presence of coronary artery disease. Again, this is also found in young people, smokers, and those who have high blood pressure. The symptoms from this condition include a feeling of pressure in the chest, pain in the arm or leg, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, palpitations and fatigue.
In order to find out if the pressure is due to heart murmurs, the patient is placed on a respirator and then the patient will be injected with vasodilators, which will increase the blood flow into the heart. Although these are mild treatments, it is still important to find out whether or not they’re caused by acute coronary syndrome. Once the doctor is satisfied that it’s not a heart attack, he or she will then order a coronary angiogram.
After this procedure is completed, a CAT scan is used to look for the presence of plaque in the coronary artery. Both procedures are helpful in determining if an ACS is a possibility. Then the patient will be evaluated by a cardiologist, who will determine if a blood test called an echocardiogram can be used to determine the extent of the damage and determine if the patient needs surgery to fix the problem.