Coronary heart disease is treated through a combination of lifestyle changes, medicines and sometimes surgery. This will not cure your coronary heart disease. However, it will reduce your symptoms and lessen your chance of having a heart attack in the future. Lifestyle changes Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is very important to help you manage coronary heart disease. This will ensure your symptoms don’t get worse over time. This could include: becoming smoke-free improving your diet reducing your stress exercising regularly Cigarette smoke damages your artery walls and reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood. Reducing your smoking habit can improve your coronary heart disease symptoms. A good diet can help you maintain a healthy weight and reduce the amount of cholesterol in your blood. Stress increases your blood pressure. Finding ways to relax can help your blood pressure stay at a healthy level. Staying fit will mean your heart does not have to work as hard to pump blood around your body. Cardiac rehabilitation can help you make practical changes in your lifestyle, especially if you: are at risk of having a heart attack have had a heart attack in the past are experiencing chest pain (angina) Medicines Coronary heart disease is also treated with medicines. These can help reduce your risk factors and treat your symptoms. These may include treatments that: lower your blood pressure lower your cholesterol prevent blood clots ease your chest pain (angina) Medicines that lower blood pressure can reduce the strain on your heart. These may include angiotensin-converting enzyme ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). Medicines such as statins can help reduce the level of cholesterol in your blood. Blood clot formation can be prevented in your heart’s blood vessels by medicines such as aspirin. Chest pain (angina) can be treated by medicines such as nitrate mouth spray. Beta-blockers can also be used to help your heart pump stronger and slower. Surgical treatments In some cases, you may need surgery to improve the blood flow to your heart. Surgical treatments include: angioplasty and stent implantation bypass surgery (coronary artery bypass graft surgery) implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) Angioplasty involves placing a small, inflated balloon in the blocked blood vessel. This clears the way for blood to flow through. After this, an expandable metal tube (stent) is left in place to keep the blood vessel open. Cardiac bypass surgery can improve the blood flow to your heart and reduce chest pain (angina). An ICD is a small device placed near your heart that detects and corrects abnormal heart rhythms.