“Does heart disease require surgery?”
My grandfather is in his late 60s and also has heart disease. Does heart disease require surgery if its in a really advanced stage?
6 Answers
It is not contraindicated at this age, however, it depends on the type of heart disease and also other risk factors.
Heart disease requires some type of surgery or intervention by the cardiologist, whether it is by medications or invasive treatment
No! The vast majority of heart disease in people in their late 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s require only medication, diet modification and exercise. Surgery is rarely needed.
That is a somewhat difficult question to answer as there are multiple types of "heart disease" including valve disease as well diseases of the coronary arteries (occlusion from cholesterol buildup). In some instances there are nonsurgical options such as angioplasty and stents. In advanced disease surgery is often the best option although there are newer modalities that can treat specific forms of heart disease without surgery. Every case is individualized based on a variety of factors.
In most cases, heart disease does not require surgery, just drugs if necessary. Sometimes coronary artery bypass surgery, or valve replacement surgery is needed, and stents for blocked and narrowed arteries are very effective, but don't require major surgery.
Regards,
Gerald Lewis, MD
Regards,
Gerald Lewis, MD
There are many types of heart disease. Some require just medicine while others might need a stent or a pacemaker. Still others need open heart surgery to fix coronary arteries or replace a heart valve. The bottom line is that a cardiologist would have to do tests to know what needs to be done.
