Ischemia Treatment

Ischemia is a condition where there is deficient amount of blood reaching an organ. This restriction in blood flow to an organ may occur due to factors related to the blood vessel, due to the placement of the organ or due to an increase in the viscosity of blood. It may also occur due to vasoconstriction or a thrombosis or embolism. Ischemia is an emergency condition and needs immediate treatment, as it can otherwise lead to death of a part of an organ. It may even lead to complete death of an organ or system. Hence, ischemia treatment is the treatment that is done to restore circulation on an emergency basis. Depending on the organ involved, the treatment will also vary. The most common ischemia seen though is in relation to the heart.

Treatment of Cardiac Ischemia
Cardiac ischemia leads to a condition known as angina or angina pectoris. This is a condition where the blood flow of the coronary arteries is obstructed, which causes decreased amount of blood and oxygen reaching the cardiac muscles. This may spur on death of the cardiac muscles, a condition known as myocardial infarction or heart attack. When a person suffers from an angina attack, he feels a terrible crushing pain in the chest. This symptom can be instantly dealt with by administration of sublingual glyceral trinitrate. This helps to relieve the chest pain till further treatment can be administered. The person may suffer from irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias) due to the alteration in blood flow in ischemic cardiomyopathy. This can be countered with the help of a defibrillator. However, you need to be wary of using drugs to counter arrhythmia, as these drugs may even trigger an attack. If the attack is due to a clot, then an emergency angioplasty or even cardiac surgery may be required.

Treatment of Cerebral Ischemia
There are high chances that the person may show stroke symptoms if there is prolonged ischemia. Cerebral ischemia involves decreased amount of blood reaching the brain. This is a very dangerous condition as any kind of damage suffered at this stage is almost always irreversible. The outcome of this kind of an attack will be influenced by the kind of supportive measures taken at the time of the attack or immediately after it. If the systemic blood pressure is very high or the heart rate shoots up, then this needs to be brought under control immediately as a part of the ischemia treatment. The person will have a high tendency of undergoing seizures at this stage. Seizures tend to inflict more damage, hence, anticonvulsants need to be given immediately so that the person does not cause any harm to himself. If the person has a history of uncontrolled diabetes, then all measures must be taken to lower his blood glucose levels as soon as possible. The basic treatment will of course, be dictated by the underlying pathology, so if the person has a history of blood clots in the brain, then he should be put on anticoagulants, with warfarin or heparin. Surgical intervention may become necessary if there is a known clot which needs to be operated on.

Prevention of Ischemia
As they say, prevention is the best cure, hence, there are certain simple measures that can be taken to do away with an attack of ischemia, especially if you have already are suffering from ischaemic heart disease. These measures include:

• Reduce your intake of fats, as the unnecessary build up of cholesterol only increases your chances of getting an ischemia attack.
• Exercise regularly, as this will keep the blood flowing to all your organs.
• If you are a smoker, then quit smoking immediately.
• If you are a diabetic then make sure your blood sugar is under control at all times.
• Take low dose aspirin, as this acts as a blood thinner and prevents the formation of clots in the blood.
• Decrease your intake of alcohol and fatty foods

It is important to treat this condition on an emergency basis, as it may be life threatening. However, as they say, prevention is better than cure, so try and maintain a healthy lifestyle so that you never get an ischemic attack.