Cardiac surgeon

"Scalpel, scissors..." - a phrase familiar to everyone. An operation is underway. People are standing in white coats at the operating table, but the entire process is managed by only one person. This is a surgeon. And the one who works with the heart is a cardiac surgeon. Few people like to go to hospitals and clinics, especially if such a specialist is waiting for an appointment. Of course! After all, a cardiac surgeon works with the most important human organ.

A bit of history. The basics of surgery were known in Ancient Greece and Rome. But if earlier, in the distant 1890s, the famous German doctor Theodor Bilroth thought of it this way: "I will not respect the surgeon who touches a person's heart."

At that moment, he could not imagine that a cardiac surgeon, working with the heart, could not only not harm it directly, but also help it feel its best again. Since then, medicine has reached great heights and is now developing quite rapidly. Diseases that were not amenable to surgical intervention in the 80s of the 20th century are now successfully operated. Cardiac surgery and cardiac surgery separately are now engaged in:

• heart valve surgeries,
• pacemakers are installed,
• they do aortic bypass,
• expand the narrowed aorta thanks to a metal frame,
• and even successfully transplant a heart.

All this is successfully done today by cardiac surgery. It is also worth noting that operations on coronary vessels, which began to be performed in the Soviet Union in the early 1970s, are now a popular method of cardiac surgery throughout the world. The difference between that time and today is great. Until relatively recently, surgery was performed only on a stopped heart, connected to an artificial blood circulation machine. In our time, doctors have proven that this has an extremely unfavorable effect on blood cells and causes some serious complications. But since the late 90s, cardiac surgeons have been trying to work directly on a functioning heart, thereby adjusting to its rhythm. In addition, today in cardiac surgery, every year, science-intensive technologies are increasingly used. Some of them provide an excellent opportunity to even refuse open-heart surgery, performing manipulations through a vein or artery. A modern controlled robot, which is widely used in cardiac surgery, is also no longer a fantasy, but today's technology.

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Who is a cardiac surgeon?

A cardiac surgeon is a doctor who treats heart diseases surgically. In other countries, cardiac surgery is also called cardiothoracic surgery (from the Greek thorax - chest). Despite the differences in the name, this is a field of medicine that is at the intersection of surgery and cardiology, quite closely related to vascular surgery. Today, everyone who needs help needs good cardiac surgeons. Today, more than 15 million patients suffer from cardiovascular diseases, and more than half of all deaths are due to these reasons. In addition, for every 1000 babies, there are 8 babies with a congenital heart defect.

A cardiac surgeon is God's "instrument" on which human life depends. And the cardiac surgeon himself always remembers this. He knows that he is responsible for human life. This doctor is always subject to nervous and physical stress. But this is the only main disadvantage in the profession of a cardiac surgeon. But it pays off with the result. If a person who was seriously ill until recently, and after the operation leaves full of strength, vigor - this is the most important merit for the doctor.

What qualities should a cardiac surgeon have?

1. An aptitude for natural sciences.
2. Good health.
3. Stress resistance.
4. A great desire to help people.
5. Willingness and ability to take calculated risks.
6. Excellent coordination of movements.
7. Dedication.
8. Sacrifice.
9. Spare no time or effort to save another's life.

In addition to the above-mentioned character traits, we can also add responsibility and the ability not to give up ahead of time even in the most difficult situations. Physical endurance, the desire to help and work with hands, sensitive fingers, excellent intelligence, a tendency to endless development - these are some more important criteria for a good doctor. In addition to anatomy, physiology and other disciplines, the skills that a cardiac surgeon should undoubtedly have include excellent knowledge of the structure and functioning of the heart and blood vessels, clinical manifestations and methods of treating cardiovascular diseases. He must be aware of diagnostic methods, be able to analyze an electrocardiogram, radiography, etc. The profession of a cardiac surgeon obliges him to be able to perform heart operations, which include both planned and emergency ones. Perform various manipulations, from surgical treatment of wounds to resuscitation.

In addition to higher education, he must necessarily complete a residency or internship in the specialty of "cardiac surgery". Before a young surgeon is trusted to perform a heart operation for the first time, many years must pass in a medical institution. The knowledge and skills that he will need in the future are acquired slowly. Those who once decided to connect their life with cardiac surgery can wait a long time for their time. At the beginning of their path, this specialist is simply forced, in a sense, to fight for the opportunity to even just be present at an operation, helping to perform the simplest manipulations. A career in cardiac surgery is, in a sense, a risk: it is necessary to study for a very long time, hoping that in the future he will become a wonderful cardiac surgeon who will justify his title and, of course, will earn the respect of colleagues and patients around him. Such a long path and the difficulties encountered along it frighten young specialists. Sometimes, at some point during their studies, they change their chosen specialty, realizing the complexity of this area of medicine. And those who move forward, no matter what, become true professionals in their field, so that they can literally hold human hearts in their hands every day and make them work correctly, beat again and again.

When should you see a cardiac surgeon?

If a person has various forms of coronary heart disease, thoracic aortic aneurysm, life-threatening arrhythmias, heart defects, then a cardiologist can refer patients with such ailments to a cardiac surgeon. He decides on aorto-coronary bypass, stenting or other heart surgery. We all, without exception, need to know exactly when to contact a cardiac surgeon?

So, if you experience:

• pain in the heart,
• weak pulse,
• shortness of breath with little physical exertion,
• lethargy;

You are overcome by:

• sad mood,
• irritability,
• despondency;

Concerns:

• bad dream,
• rapid heartbeat,
• premature aging,
• abnormally rapid fatigue, with this general set of signs of heart disease,

You should see a cardiac surgeon immediately.

Here are a few more symptoms that will remind you that you are developing serious heart disease.

1. If you suffer from hypotension (low blood pressure), then you will experience swelling and paleness of the face.
2. A bluish-red color of the cheeks symbolizes problems with the mitral valve.
3. Hypertension can be seen in a red, bumpy nose with streaks of blood vessels.
4. If you have poor circulation of the heart or respiratory organs, you may see cyanosis not only of the cheeks, but also of the forehead, and in addition, the pallor or bluish color of the lips will be clearly visible on the face.
5. A strongly protruding, curved temporal artery may indicate the approach of a hypertensive crisis.
6. Loss of sensitivity and numbness in the skin area between the chin and lips may be an indicator of an imminent myocardial infarction.

There are also some signs of circulatory pathologies that require emergency medical care:

• dyspnea, in which the patient seems unable to take a full breath,
• increased pallor or strange red color of the face,
• a faint but rapid pulse,
• a suddenly "extinguished" look,
• slurred speech,
• the patient does not respond to speech addressed to him,
• fainting.

What tests should you take when visiting a cardiac surgeon?

To prepare for a visit to a cardiac surgeon, you must have data from previous examinations and diagnostic tests. Before seeking help at a hospital, the patient must undergo appropriate tests. What tests should be taken when visiting a cardiac surgeon?

These include:

• LDH, LDH 1;
• AST, ALT;
• Prothrombin index;
• Cholesterol;
• Fibrinogen;
• Triglycerides;
• Alpha lipoprotein cholesterol;
• Electrolytes /K, Na, Ca, Cl, Mg/;
• Acid-base state.
• A coagulogram must also be performed without fail.

What happens during an appointment with a cardiac surgeon?

• The doctor will listen carefully to the complaints of the patient who has come to him, ask about the characteristics of the course of the disease, and familiarize himself with the medical documentation.
• Next, he performs a physical examination and measures blood pressure.
• After which he prescribes a preoperative examination, medication treatment, and, if urgently necessary, sets a date for the operation.

What diagnostic methods does a cardiac surgeon use?

These include those that are well known to everyone, such as:

• phonocardiography,
• electrocardiography,
• angiocardiography,
• cardiac probing,
• echo-dopplerography,
• myocardial scintigraphy at rest and under physical stress/single-photon computed tomography myocardial scintigraphy with thallium,
• electrophysiological study,
• coronary angiography,
• balloon angioplasty and stenting,
• transesophageal echocardiography,
• chest x-ray,
• computed tomography,
• scintigraphy of the myocardium, kidneys, lungs,
• Holter ECG monitoring,
• stress ECHO-CG,
• multislice computed tomography (MSCT).

In addition, a cardiologist may prescribe magnetic resonance (MR) angiography of the coronary arteries and an electrophysiological examination.

Are these the diagnostic methods used by a cardiac surgeon? If necessary, consultations with specialized specialists may be required. The importance of certain examinations in each individual case is determined by a specialist.

What diseases does a cardiac surgeon treat?

The specifics of his profession are to help people examine heart diseases, cure congenital and acquired heart defects, large vessels, arrhythmia. His competence includes the treatment of ischemic heart disease and its complications. A cardiac surgeon solves problems of heart transplantation, develops an artificial heart. This specialist is required if traditional conservative methods do not benefit the diseased heart, and if they do help, then not enough.

Ischemic heart disease is an example of this. It occurs when blood flow in the coronary vessels is disrupted. The heart muscle does not have enough oxygen, which results in repeated attacks of angina pectoris, which can subsequently lead to myocardial infarction. To avoid this, it is necessary to resort to the most effective method of treating ischemic disease - surgery. This is the specialist who will take direct part in it.

If you are interested in what diseases a cardiac surgeon deals with, we will talk about this below.

So this doctor is studying:

• cardiac arrhythmia,
• arterial hypertension,
• arterial hypotension,
• vegetative-vascular dystonia,
• myocardial infarction,
• ischemic heart disease,
• cardialgia,
• cardiomyopathy,
• cardiosclerosis,
• collapse,
• stroke,
• pulmonary heart,
• myocardial dystrophy,
• neurocirculatory dystonia,
• cardiac asthma,
• heart failure,
• vascular crises,
• angina pectoris,
• endocarditis.

A cardiac surgeon treats coronary atherosclerosis and vascular atherosclerosis. Pulmonary edema, pericarditis, hypertensive crisis are also his "hobbies".

What does a cardiac surgeon do?

Heart surgery is a complicated and rather risky method of treatment. But it is within the power of a cardiac surgeon! The main thing is that he is not only a highly qualified surgeon, but also an excellent analyst who can weigh all the pros and cons before approaching the operation. He needs to be aware of parallel medical specialties, such as: anesthesiology, functional diagnostics, topographic anatomy, etc.

Heart surgeries can last from 6 to 12 hours. A whole team helps him with this! 4 or more doctors play an important role in saving a person's life. All employees must be very resilient and able to work in a team. Therefore, most cardiac surgeons are men.

A cardiac surgeon performs surgical treatment of heart and vascular diseases when drug treatment does not give effective results. In addition, the doctor carries out the necessary examinations and manipulations in order to clarify the diagnosis and the scope of the upcoming surgical intervention. This doctor, we repeat once again, is obliged to perform operations during which he gets rid of congenital or acquired heart defects, does aortocoronary bypass, inserts a pacemaker into the chest, etc. A cardiac surgeon, in addition to the above, studies the structure, function, diseases of the heart and blood vessels, studies the causes of their occurrence, development mechanisms, clinical manifestations, makes a final diagnosis. He also selects appropriate treatment methods, offers the patient one or another prevention, deals with issues of medical rehabilitation of patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Advice from a cardiac surgeon

Vessels are a vital system of the human body. In order for a person to always feel good, it is necessary for the vessels to be healthy. Of course, it is difficult to keep them in their original form, especially living in a big city. Therefore, in order to keep the vessels healthy, you will need the wise advice of a cardiac surgeon.

1. In order for the blood vessels to be clean and strong, you need to breathe the freshest air possible. To do this, it is best to go out into nature, spend as little time as possible in smoky places. If you yourself smoke, quit this bad habit as soon as possible, so as not to shorten your life ahead of time. According to scientists who conducted research with an audience of many thousands, they found out that people who smoke are 25-30% at risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke. The reason for this is atherosclerosis.
2. Eat right. It is important to regularly add bran to your food. It is especially tasty to add them to yoghurts, but real ones, without preservatives. But the latter are best prepared by yourself based on natural ingredients. Bran binds unnecessary fats to the body, thereby reducing cholesterol in the blood, which is dangerous for blood vessels.

Do you know what doctors themselves do to protect their health? When the famous Leo Bokeria was asked how to protect your heart from disease, he said that the main thing is not to get too carried away with food, not to overeat. He also gave another important piece of advice: “Never overload yourself with complex sports loads. You can resort to sports games or gymnastics: “Try standing for a couple of minutes with your arm raised or on one leg. The loads should be significant, and the result is like running.” He himself admitted that he did this gymnastics even during operations, which usually lasted for hours.

3. There are 3 "no's" without which you can't keep your heart healthy and strong! Don't overeat, don't overdrink, don't sit still! The initial form of hypertension can be successfully treated with physical exercise, such as walking.
4. It is worth eating more raw vegetables. Eat a lot of garlic. It is useful to eat a clove of garlic in the morning on an empty stomach, slowly chewing it in the mouth. Of course, this procedure is not pleasant, but it is very necessary for our blood vessels. If you have a weak stomach, then the dose of garlic should be the smallest. It is best to consult a doctor.
5. In the morning and before bed, you need to eat 1 teaspoon of honey. You can dilute it in a glass of warm water. You can add a little lemon juice to it.
6. Again, physical culture, first of all. In this case, blood circulation will improve, capillaries will expand, into which blood previously flowed with difficulty. A large amount of oxygen will flow to the organs and brain. A contrast shower also has a good effect on the vessels.
7. You shouldn't abuse strong tea or coffee. These drinks settle on the walls of blood vessels.
8. And finally, the key to excellent health at any time and times was a good mood and optimism!