advancement.
(4) a continuous involvement in multiple and diverse
functions subject to time restrictions.
(5) habitual propensity to accelerate the rate of
execution of most physical and mental functions.
(6) extraordinary mental and physical alertness.
(7) aggressive and hostile feelings.
The enhanced competitiveness of type-A persons leads to an
aggressive and ambitious achievement orientation, increased mental
and physical alertness, muscular tension, and an explosive and
rapid style of speech. A sense of time urgency leads to
restlessness, impatience, and acceleration of most activities. This
in turn may result in irritability and the enhanced potential for
type-A hostility and anger. Type-A individuals are thus at an
increased risk of developing coronary heart disease.
The type-A behaviour pattern is defined as an action-emotion
complex involving10:
(1) behavioural dispositions (e.g., ambitiousness,
aggressiveness, competitiveness, and impatience).
(2) specific behaviours (e.g., muscle tenseness,
alertness, rapid and emphatic speech stylistics,
and accelerated pace of most activities).
(3) emotional responses (e.g., irritation, hostility,
and anger).
Comparatively, type-A persons are more risky to develop
coronary heart disease than type-B individuals, whose manners and
behaviours are relaxed. The risk, however, is independent of the
risk factors. Not all physicians are convinced that type-A
behaviour pattern is a risk factor, and thousands of studies and
researches are currently being done by experts on this topic.
THE CARDIAC REHAB PROGRAM
This program at the Credit Valley Hospital is designed to help
patients with coronary artery disease lower their overall risk, and
to prevent any further attacks. It provides rehabilitation for
patients who are likely to have heart attacks, have had heart
attacks, or had a recent surgery.
Most patients come to this one-hour class two nights a week,
which takes place outside the physiotherapy department. The class
is ran by volunteers, and is usually supervised by a kinesiologist.
The patients come in a little before 6:00 pm, and have their blood
pressure taken. At six o’clock, volunteers will take the patients
through a fifteen-minute warm-up. After the warm-up, the patients
will go on with their exercise for half an hour. The patients can
choose from walking, rowing machines, stationary bicycles, and arm
ergometer, or a combination of two or more as their exercise.
Each patient is reassessed once a month, in order to keep
track of their progress. Volunteers will ask the patient being
reassessed a series of questions, which includes frequency of
exercise, type of exercise program, problems with exercise, etc.
About 6:30, when the patients are near the peak of their
exercise, the ones being reassessed will have to have their pulse
and blood pressure measured; to see if they have reached their
“target heart rate”, and to see if their blood pressure goes up
as expected.
At about 6:45, the patients end their exercise and cool-down
begins. Cool-down is in a way similar to warm-up, only this helps
the patients to relax their hearts, as well as their body after a
half-hour workout. After cool-down most patients have their blood
pressure taken again just to make sure nothing unusual occurs.
CONCLUSION
Angina pectoris is not a disease which affect a person’s
heart permanently, but to encounter angina pain means something
is wrong. The pain is the heart’s distress signal, a built-in
warning device indicating that the heart has reached its maximum
workload. Upon experiencing angina, precautions should be taken.
A person’s lifestyle plays a major role in determining the
chance of developing heart diseases. If people do not learn how
to prevent it themselves, coronary artery disease will remain as
the single biggest killer in the world, by far.