Cardiovascular Disease

Angina pectoris is the clinical term for chest pain due to coronary heart disease, and hypertension translates to high blood pressure-two potentially life-threatening conditions that affect 10 million Americans every year. In this program, William Frishman, of New York Medical College; Steve Glasser, of the University of Minnesota; and Henry Black, of Rush Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, address the causes and effects of those conditions. Treatments and preventive measures are considered as well, including lifestyle and risk factor modification and new drug therapies. (23 minutes)

Many people who have suffered from cardiac arrest live in constant fear of complete heart failure. This program makes clear that, for the average heart attack survivor, nothing could be further from the truth. Viewers will learn about current procedures and treatments, including exercise, state-of-the-art medications, and heart transplants, that have helped heart attack patients live healthy, normal lives-even when patients are also undergoing other treatments such as chemotherapy. Interviews with veteran cardiologists, researchers, and patients form illuminating case studies-providing ample evidence that, despite the ominous name, a heart attack doesn't have to be a death sentence. (28 minutes)

Each year, more than one million men and women suffer a heart attack. This event suddenly and dramatically alters a person's life forever, but studies show that if sufferers can get to a hospital quickly, more than 90 percent will survive. This program explores the radical and unexpected changes that heart attack sufferers must deal with. Spotlighting the importance of targeted medications, lifestyle modifications, and-no less importantly-determination, the program provides case studies in which patients have regained productive and enjoyable lives. In addition to expert commentary, the program also overviews the warning signs of a heart attack and how they might differ between men and women. (30 minutes)

When it comes to clogged arteries, your legs are no safer than your heart. This incisive clinical program raises awareness of peripheral artery disease, a very dangerous and often misdiagnosed vascular ailment. Doctors from Lenox Hill Hospital and Temple University Hospital explain the physiology of the disease and identify its most common risk factors, symptoms, diagnostic testing, and methods of treatment. They also stress the crucial need for early detection, citing that only one quarter of the 12 million Americans who have the disease are aware that their symptoms are PAD-induced. An informative and alarming learning resource. (27 minutes)

A major stroke can hit without warning and leave a broken body and a damaged mind in its wake. But there are ways to prevent strokes, even among high-risk groups. This program looks at anticoagulation and its role in averting strokes and other devastating conditions. Viewers learn how doctors identify risk factors in patients and how certain treatments can stop blood clots from forming and making their way to the brain. Subjects include ischemic strokes, intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhages, blood clot formation, DVT, stroke symptoms, treatments by type of stroke, anti-thrombotic therapy, and telestroke. Commentary comes from Dr. Mark Alberts and Dr. Robert Bonow of Northwestern University. (26 minutes)

According to current estimates, cardiovascular disease is responsible for more deaths each year than the next seven leading causes of death-combined. This program begins with a concise overview of how the heart and circulatory system function and why a healthy heart is so important to overall bodily health. Common heart- and circulatory system-related problems are then addressed, with an emphasis on pathology and long-term preventive and palliative measures. The major risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the U.S. are also described, distinguishing between those that are controllable and those that are not. (27 minutes)

What does the future have in store for the heart, the motor that powers the human body? What kinds of treatment can cardiology patients expect within the next decade? This program reveals a wide range of innovations for the treatment and cure of heart disease and cardiovascular disease. Viewers will discover a newly developed bypass system; a biventricular pacemaker that also incorporates a defibrillator; and a highly advanced artificial heart developed by a space robotics laboratory, which will hopefully reduce the current reliance on donor hearts, which are in acutely short supply. Yet another glimmer of hope comes in the form of artificial tissue which may one day replace diseased heart muscle in children. Contains graphic footage of surgical procedures. Not available in French-speaking Canada. (26 minutes)

Heart valves fabricated from the body's own cells are durable and are not rejected. Stimulating the natural growth of blood vessels to skirt clogged ones could make elaborate bypass surgery obsolete. As this program shows, these are some of the tools, either in use or under development, that place vascular science at the forefront of medicine. The program also highlights innovations in clot-dissolving drugs, artificial hearts, on-the-spot repairs through catheters and tiny video cameras, and growing three-dimensional heart tissue in the lab. A Deutsche Welle Production. (26 minutes)