Cardio

Although 73 percent of women know how to prevent heart disease, many are unaware of how to treat it once a diagnosis has been made.

In a survey of 1,979 women over age 35, only 55 percent said they understand how to treat heart disease. Respondents often incorrectly named prevention techniques such as exercise and healthy eating as treatment options, and less than 10 percent named actual treatments such as angioplasty and stent placement.

Hispanics and African-Americans, both groups considered high risk for heart disease, twice as likely as Caucasian women to say they do not know any treatment at all.

The survey was conducted by the "Healthy From the Heart" campaign sponsored by the National Women's Health Resource Center and Cordis Corp. The campaign encourages women to learn about treatment options for coronary artery disease, the most common type of heart disease, so they can make more informed decisions well if it is diagnosed.

"The good news is that women realize that they are at risk of heart disease. The bad news is that they are too confident in their ability to prevent and treat it," said Dr. Cindy Grines, an interventional cardiologist with the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oaks, Mich. "Women need to realize that education is the key to conquering the threat of coronary artery disease There are various treatment options now available .."

The most common procedure for treating coronary artery disease with balloon angioplasty of a coronary stent. Angioplasty widens the narrowed artery by threading a balloon tipped catheter through the groin or arm artery to the blocked artery in the heart. Balloon is inflated to push plaque to the arterial wall, which in turn expands the blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily.

Scientific advances have led to the development of drug-eluting stents, tiny mesh scaffold that props the artery open while releasing small amounts of certain drugs, such as sirolimus, in the arteries over a period of time. This helps keep plaque from reforming and help prevent repeat blockage from occurring in the blood vessels.

Coronary bypass surgery is another treatment option. While more invasive, it is a safe and effective treatment for patients who may not qualify for angioplasty and stenting.