If your heart were a car engine, it would need constant fuel and maintenance to run smoothly.
The trouble is, many Malaysians are unknowingly cruising around with clogged fuel lines - silent blockages that only reveal themselves when the engine suddenly stalls.
At Cardiac Vascular Sentral Kuala Lumpur (CVSKL) recent media panel “Don’t Miss a Beat: Breakthroughs in Cardiac Care”, two leading cardiologists pulled back the curtain on what is really happening inside our arteries, why patients are getting younger and how new tech is rewriting the future of heart treatment.
Consultant Cardiologist at Cardiac Vascular Sentral Kuala Lumpur (CVSKL) Datuk Dr Tamil Selvan Muthusamy explained it in simple terms:
“The heart muscle is like a pump and it needs blood supply. For it to work, it does not get its blood supply from its inner chambers but through three tiny arteries which arise from the big vessel called the aortas.
“These supply the oxygen and nutrients required for the heart muscle to work, much like any other organ.”
When these arteries narrow or get blocked, that is coronary artery disease (CAD) which is Malaysia’s number one killer.
“There are many reasons for this to happen. Genetics play a role, but so do lifestyle factors like obesity, smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet.
“Diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol only stack the risks higher.
“All these lead to progressive diseases like coronary diseases,” he said.
And, what shocking news is: the patients are not just in their 60s anymore.
Datuk Dr Rosli Mohd Ali, also a Consultant Cardiologist at CVSKL, pointed out that the last report said one out of four patients are below 50 years of age.
He added that it is really concerning, because these are very young patients.
He shared cases from just the day before, two of them were 48, one was 41 and one medical doctor, 28 years of age.
“He’s not a smoker, he doesn’t have any family history, no diabetes, but the only problem is that his cholesterol is very high,” he said.
That is why both doctors stressed early check-ups, especially for men over 45 and women over 50.
Simple screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes can make the difference between living a normal life and ending up in emergency care.
Advanced scans like CT coronary angiograms can even detect silent blockages before disaster strikes.
But what about treatment? Is it just lifestyle tweaks or something bigger? Dr Rosli broke it down:
He emphasised the aims of treatment are threefold.
- The first goal of treatment is to relieve symptoms.
- The second goal is to reduce the risk of serious events such as heart attack or stroke.
- The third goal is to improve survival and reduce the risk of death.
He stressed medications, angioplasty or bypass surgery all have their place, however angioplasty, being less invasive, is increasingly the go-to option for many.
Dr Tamil added that modern technology has completely changed the game.
“A major breakthrough in cardiology was the introduction of stents,” he said, explaining how early balloon treatments often failed but stents helped keep arteries open.
Over time, drug-coated stents made them even more effective.
Now, the spotlight is on bioadaptors which are devices that ‘uncage’ over time, letting arteries regain their natural flexibility.
“We found that, one year later, arteries treated with bioadaptors were actually bigger and healthier compared to those treated with regular stents,” Dr Tamil said.
Meanwhile, tackling hardened calcium in arteries is once a nightmare for doctors and is also getting easier thanks to mechanical lithotripsy balloons.
Dr Rosli explained this new method is easier, safer and something we are already familiar with, because it works just like inflating a normal balloon during angioplasty.
He highlighted that it allows us to treat even heavily calcified arteries more efficiently, shortens the procedure time and reduces complications.
Heart disease may still be Malaysia’s biggest killer, but breakthroughs like bioadaptors and mechanical lithotripsy are making treatment safer, faster and more effective than ever.
Still, both doctors had the same final message: don’t wait until symptoms strike.