What is Heart Disease?
By: Robert NamTotal Views: 125, Word Count: 871,
If you are like the rest and think that heart disease is a problem for other folks. You are wrong, it can happen to any one and at any stage of life. Heart disease is among the number one killer in the U.S. This disease is the major cause of disability among majority of population all over the world. Moreover, there are different forms of heart disease. Heart disease is an umbrella term been used to describe variety of different disease which affects the heart mainly.
The heart is one of the important organs, which plays a vital role; it pumps blood to all other body parts with its life giving oxygen and nutrients. If the heart is inefficient to pump, other organs like brain and kidney suffers. In case if the heart stops working, death occurs within a few minutes. Your life completely depends on the efficient functioning of the heart. The ultimate problems of every heart disease are that it disrupts the vital pumping function of the heart in one or another way.
Mainly the types of heart disease include coronary heart disease, ischemic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, cardiovascular heart disease, cardiomypathy, valvular heart disease, heart failure, and the inflammatory heart disease. For all the types of heart disease, treatment includes changes in lifestyle, medical treatment and in some cases emergency medical intervention. Unfortunately, many of the people suffering from heart disease do not know the symptoms of disease, which ultimately result in the death of the person. Following are some of the common heart diseases
Types of Heart Diseases
- Coronary artery disease
Coronary artery disease is a disease of the artery, which causes an accumulation of atheromatus plaques within the walls of the arteries, which supply the myocardium. Once this construction of the vessels and artery occurs, the heart will not be able to supply the adequate amount of blood to other body parts. The reduction in the supply of blood though the heart leads to chest pain (angina). If the flow of blood is completely obstructed by the plaque, it may also lead to myocardial infarction (heart attack). In the US, it is the major cause of deaths.
- Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomypathy means the disease of the heart muscle. This disease leads to the degeneration of the heart muscles for any number of reasons. The person suffering from this disease may have a considerable risk of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death. The treatment of the cardiomyopathy depends on its type. The treatment may include medication, implanting a pacemaker, using a defibrillator, ablation, or ventricular assist.
- Ischemic heart disease
Ischemic heart disease is a disease, which causes a reduction in the blood supply to the cardiac muscle. Symptoms of the heart disease may include angina, and reduces the ability to perform exercise. Risk of developing a ischemic heart disease increases with a increasing age, hypertension, family history, smoking, diabetes and high cholesterol level .Treatments of ischemic heart disease includes medications, angiography and angioplasty
- Hypertensive Heart Disease
Hypertensive heart disease is a heart disease, which occurs because of high blood pressure. It may result in the development of coronary heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias, hypertensive cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, and left ventricular hypertrophy.
- Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease is a disease, which affects the heart or the blood vessels especially the veins and the arteries. Maintain a healthy heart diet, performing exercise, eliminating the habit of smoking helps a lot for reducing the risk of cardiovascular heart disease.
- Valvular Heart Disease
Valvular heart disease is a disease that affects one or more valves within the heart. It may also result due to congenital factor or may develop during course of a lifetime. Treatment for this disease may include replacement of the valve.
- Heart Failure Or Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to supply the sufficient amount of blood required by the other body parts. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, swollen ankles and decreased capability to carry out the physical activities. It can be treated with a surgery, medication and a life style change.
- Inflammatory Heart Disease
Inflammatory heart disease refers to any type of inflammation, which occurs in the heart or the surrounding tissue. This heart disease includes inflammatory cardiomegaly, myocarditis (inflammation occurs in the muscular area of the heart) and the endocarditic (Inflammation occurs in the internal layer of the heart).
So, what you can do for your heart is, just eliminate smoking, have a healthy heart diet, perform some exercise, and have a routine checkup with your doctor. By following these important factors, you can eliminate heart diseases from your life or at least you can try to prevent it. Your heart and blood vessels will thank you for that!
About the Author
Dr. Robert Nam is a well known heart specialist and has done postgraduate training in cardiology at the national heart hospital, the London chest hospital and UCL hospital, London. He was also engaged in research at the national heart and lung institute. Nowadays he is working as a consultant cardiologist at UCL hospital, London.
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