While victims of heart attacks have more options regarding treatment than they did a generation ago, ...

1.   Coronary bypass surgery: Common in the 1980s, this surgery involves taking a blood vessel from another site within the patient’s body and implanting it so that it provides a ‘detour’ or bypass for blood to travel through. This is a very invasive surgical technique that is still used today but generally as a last resort.
2.   Angioplasty: This surgery involves threading a needle, with a deflated balloon on the end of it, through the artery until it gets to the blockage. The balloon is then inflated, opening up the artery again. This surgery is significantly less invasive than coronary bypass surgery and so is a more popular option.
3.   Thrombolysis: This is a drug treatment in which anti-clotting medication is injected into the bloodstream to dissolved the clot and restore blood flow to the heart. For best results thrombolytic drugs have to be injected no more than three hours after the start of a heart attack.
4.   Other drug treatments: Other drug treatments are used to either decrease the risk factors leading to the heart attack (cholesterol lowering drugs, anti-hypertensives) or to thin the blood to prevent clot formation (aspirin).
The problem with these treatments is that they are simply treating the effects of a lifetime of poor decision-making. In order to prevent subsequent heart attacks, lifestyle changes must be made. These include but are not limited to: good dietary habits, more physical activity and cessation of smoking,.