Coronary Artery Disease

Atherosclerosis (also called coronary artery disease) is the most common type of heart disease. It happens when cholesterol and other material called plaque builds up on the inner walls of your arteries. This build up, called atherosclerosis, causes your arteries to narrow, making it difficult for blood to flow through the arteries and reach your heart. When this happens, your heart doesn’t get the blood and oxygen it needs.

Early Detection & Screening for Coronary Artery Disease 

Coronary Calcium Screening 

A doctor referral is needed for this screening.

A coronary calcium CT scan can help detect the amount of plaque in your body and your risk for heart attack before it happens. That’s good news because then you can take steps to prevent a heart attack. Usually, heart disease is not discovered until a person develops symptoms such as chest pain or an abnormal response to a stress test, or if they have a heart attack or sudden cardiac death.

At Bryan Medical Center, our multi-slice CT scanner detects the presence of calcium in your coronary arteries. If calcium is found, the amount of calcification correlates to the level of heart disease and your risk of a heart attack. This technology allows us to detect the extent of heart disease before symptoms appear, so you can take steps to slow the progression of heart disease and prevent a life-threatening cardiac event. The special CT scanner at Bryan uses the lowest dose of radiation for this procedure.

To schedule, call 402-481-5121

Treatment for Coronary Artery Disease 

Medications

Many drugs are available to treat coronary artery disease, including:

  • Cholesterol drugs

    Medications can help lower bad cholesterol and reduce plaque buildup in the arteries.  To meet these two needs, individuals are often prescribed medications like statins, niacin, fibrates and bile acid sequestrants.

  • Aspirin
    Aspirin helps thin the blood and prevent blood clots. Daily low-dose aspirin therapy may be recommended for the primary prevention of heart attack or stroke in some people. Daily use of aspirin can have serious side effects, including bleeding in the stomach and intestines. Don't start taking a daily aspirin without talking to your health care provider.

  • Beta blockers
    These drugs slow the heart rate. They also lower blood pressure. If you've had a heart attack, beta blockers may reduce the risk of future attacks
  • Calcium channel blockers
    One of these drugs may be recommended if you can't take beta blockers or if beta blockers don't work. Calcium channel blockers can help improve symptoms of chest pain
  • Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs)
    These medicines lower blood pressure. They may help keep coronary artery disease from getting worse
  • Nitroglycerin
    This medicine widens the heart arteries. It can help control or relieve chest pain. Nitroglycerin is available as a pill, spray or patch
  • Antianginals
    These medications may help people with chest pain (angina). They may be prescribed with or instead of a beta blocker

Procedures and Surgeries 

  • Coronary angioplasty and stent placement
    This procedure, also called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), opens clogged heart arteries. Your heart doctor will guide a thin, flexible tube (catheter) to the narrowed part of the heart artery. A tiny balloon is inflated to help widen the blocked artery and improve blood flow.

    A small wire mesh tube (stent) may be placed in the artery during angioplasty. The stent helps keep the artery open, and lowers the risk of the artery narrowing again. Some stents slowly release medication to help keep the arteries open.

  • Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG)
    A surgeon takes a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body to create a new path for blood in the heart. The blood then goes around the blocked or narrowed coronary artery. CABG is an open-heart surgery. It's usually done only in those with many narrowed heart arteries.