Treatment Of Coronary Heart Disease in Singapore

Coronary heart disease (or ischemia heart disease) is a common condition in Singapore. This happens when your coronary artery becomes too narrow or completely blocked. There is then a reduced amount of blood flow to your heart muscles. Over time it can lead to a more serious condition like heart failure. In this article, we will explore the diagnosis and the options for the treatment of coronary heart disease in Singapore.

Diagnosis Of Coronary Heart Disease

During diagnosis, a medical practitioner will do a thorough checkup on your body and heart. Commonly, they will ask you about your family history and your medical history to gain more detailed information about you. The doctors suspect coronary heart disease, they will also run some diagnostic tests on your heart. The test that they will run on you can be different from those conducted for another patient, because it will depend on the symptoms that you are showing. Common tests that they may conduct on patients include:

Electrocardiogram (ECG)

This is a quick and painless test, to measure the electrical activity on your heart. It is performed to identify if there is an abnormal heartbeat, or if there is damage to your heart muscle.

Exercise Stress Test

An exercise stress test typically involves the patient exercising on a treadmill or on a stationary bike. During this time, your heart rhythm, blood pressure and breathing will be monitored. This test can help the doctor determine the severity of an existing heart condition.

Cardiac Catheterisation

Cardiac catheterisation is a test whereby the doctor will insert a thin tube into your artery to check for any narrowing or blockages in your coronary arteries. Cardiac catheterisation aids in diagnosis by giving the doctor information about the muscle, valves and blood vessels in the heart.

Coronary Angiography

This procedure is carried out to help the doctor to visualise your coronary arteries (blood vessels that supply blood to the heart muscles). This is needed as the heart appears as a silhouette on ordinary x-rays and the coronary arteries cannot be seen. During coronary angiography, a small tube (catheter) is inserted via a large artery in the groin or in the wrist. The catheter is then advanced to the heart and positioned at the openings of the coronary arteries. A special dye is injected through the catheter to aid visualisation. The catheters will be removed after the procedure.

Options For Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease in Singapore

If you are being diagnosed with coronary heart disease, there are multiple treatment options in Singapore available.

Lifestyle Changes For Coronary Heart Health

The first steps of your treatment must be done by yourself. Effect changes in your lifestyle by making it healthier and stopping any unhealthy habits in your daily lifestyle. Start exercising and eating a healthier diet. These small changes can help you to prevent a more life-threatening condition in the future.

Prescription Medication

You may also be prescribed medication by your doctor. These prescriptions will be for helping you to manage and control certain risk factors for your condition. The drugs that may be used for treating coronary heart disease are cholesterol drugs, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers.

Interventional Procedures and Coronary Bypass Surgery

In some serious conditions whereby treatment by medication is insufficient or if the artery is narrowed so much that the heart muscle is being starved of oxygen, an interventional procedure may be needed.

“Minimally invasive” interventional procedures to treat coronary heart disease include balloon angioplasty, coronary artery stenting, and Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS).

However, there may be instances whereby coronary bypass surgery may be preferred. The doctor will make a recommendation based on your medical history or the condition of your blocked artery. Coronary bypass is a procedure whereby the surgeon redirects the flow of blood around a section of the blocked artery by using a healthy blood vessel taken from the patient’s arm, leg, or chest.

Cost of Coronary Bypass Surgery in Singapore

Ministry of Health benchmark data for 2018-2019 shows that the median hospitalisation bill for coronary artery bypass was $8,312 for public hospitals (B2 wards), $34,204 for public hospitals (unsubsidised B1 wards), and $81,338 for private hospitals. These excludes the cost of post-hospitalisation rehabilitation.