Cardiovascular Health Challenges

Some common facts about heart and vascular disease are:

  • It is of the most common and expensive illness affecting Americans today
  • It kills nearly 1 million americans each year
  • 65 million people have cardiovascular disease and 60 million have hypertension
  • 50% of all men do NOT survive heart attacks
  • It affects older women as often as older men

Did You Know?

Coronary artery disease currently affects more than 11 million people in the United States, and it is the most common chronic, life-threatening illness in the United States. Men initially have a greater risk of coronary artery disease than women. However, a woman’s risk eventually equals or excels that of a man once she begins menopause. This could be the result of a menopause-related decrease in levels of estrogen, a female sex hormone that may offer some protection against atherosclerosis.

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Coronary Bypass Surgery

Coronary bypass surgery is a procedure that restores blood flow to your heart muscle by diverting the flow of blood around a section of a blocked artery in your heart. Coronary bypass surgery uses a healthy blood vessel taken from your leg, arm, chest or abdomen and connects it to the other arteries in your heart so that blood is bypassed around the diseased or blocked area. After a coronary bypass surgery, normal blood flow is restored. Coronary bypass surgery is just one option to treat heart disease.

Coronary bypass surgery can help reduce your risk of having a heart attack. For many people who have coronary bypass surgery, symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath are reduced after having the surgery.

Some facts about coronary bypass surgery are:

  • 300,000 people undergo bypass surgery each year at a cost of $25,000 + over above insurance coverage
  • Most people must udergo surgery more than once
  • About 5% die from the operation
  • About 50% of people find their arteries clogged again within 5 years
  • About 5-10% of all patients suffer a heart attack following the surgery, while some suffer strokes and hemorrhages