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Heart Disease Resource Guide

Last updated: August 29, 2022

Heart Disease Resource Guide

Ahmed Raza

The heart, as the primary pumping organ is responsible for the circulation of blood throughout the body, is supported by several veins and arteries that supply blood to and from the heart. When these vessels are affected, they can cause serious heart diseases that eventually lead to death.

Heart disease causes hundreds of thousands of deaths throughout the world each year. Some common heart diseases include cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, inflammatory heart disease, and valvular heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease is a disease of the arteries, veins, and the heart. Since adolescents are vulnerable to this, it is important to start adhering to its prevention very early in life. The numerous kinds of cardiovascular disease include, but are not limited to angina, aneurysm, atherosclerosis, and peripheral vascular disease.

Tips for reducing the risk of the disease include eating healthy meals, exercising regularly, avoiding smoking, and excessive alcohol.

People having any form of heart disease can be treated by improving their diet and lifestyle. The health care providers and professionals involved in these conditions are cardiologists, thoracic surgeons, vascular surgeons, neurologists, and interventional radiologists. Which consulting health care provider a person may need will often depend on the presentation of the damaged heart vessel.

Adolescent vulnerability to cardiovascular consequences of chronic emotional stress

Preventing cardiovascular disease in women

Coronary heart disease

Coronary heart disease is also known as coronary artery disease (CAD). Statistics show that more than 13 million people, both men and women, are affected by this in the US. The cause of the disease is blockage of the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, known as the myocardium.

When the blood flows to the heart is reduced, it causes chest pain or angina. Therefore, individuals having chest pain should not take their signs and symptoms for granted because of the possibility of having the disease. To prevent or reduce the risk of CAD, foods high in trans fats and saturated fats, smoking, excessive alcohol, and lack of exercise must be avoided or changed.

Coronary artery disease is caused by the damages done to the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are damaged by several factors such as smoking, excessive alcohol, and the consumption of excessive sugar.

Causes of CAD

Understanding CAD

Symptoms of CAD

Alcohol use

Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy refers to the condition wherein the heart can no longer pump as much blood as it used to. This condition makes the heart pump blood slowly as a result of the weakness in the muscle structure. The cause of Cardiomyopathy is by external factors, such as drinking, certain infections, and other idiopathic as well as genetic causes.

Cardiomyopathy overview

There are two main types of cardiomyopathy:

Primary cardiomyopathy — No other cardiac conditions present that lead to a weakened heart muscle. In some cases, cardiomyopathies are passed down to other family members, or inherited.

Secondary cardiomyopathy — A medical state caused by another heart condition, such as hypertension, valve disease, congenital heart disease, CAD, or toxins/medications. Some of these heart conditions are treatable, which can prevent damaging effects to the muscle. CAD is a common and possibly reversible cause of cardiomyopathy.

Cardiomyopathy is often further broken down into two categories, ischemic and non-ischemic, depending on whether CAD is causing the condition. Ischemia is when an area of the body isn’t getting enough blood.

Ischemic cardiomyopathy causes include, CAD and heart attacks. The heart muscle becomes damaged due to blockages in the coronary arteries, which carry blood to the heart, and it leads to cardiomyopathy.

Non-ischemic cardiomyopathy is not related to known CAD. They are sometimes inherited. There are four types of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy:

Dilated cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Restrictive cardiomyopathy

Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD)

Other types of cardiomyopathy exist that do not fit into the general classifications. These include:

Chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy

Peripartum cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy can be treated by resting, taking medications and most importantly, prevention and/or reducing the occurrence of known causes.

Treatment for cardiomyopathy

Ischemic heart disease

Ischemic heart disease is a condition that occurs when the blood supply to the heart muscle is reduced and arises when the coronary arteries have been affected.

The condition gets worse as one grows older. Smoking, excessive alcohol, and a diet high in cholesterol also aggravate the condition. The symptoms of ischemic heart disease include chest pain, also known as angina, and an inability to perform exercises for long periods because of fatigue or shortness of breath.

The possible treatments for this are angioplasty, medications, and coronary artery bypass surgery. Ischemic heart disease is most common in older individuals with men being more predisposed to the condition; however, women, become equally prone with an increased likelihood of developing the condition following menopause.

What is Ischemic heart disease?

Ischemic heart disease in women: Facts and wishful thinking

Coronary artery bypass surgery

Heart failure

Another name for heart failure is cardiac failure—it’s the term used to refer to the case where the heart cannot pump enough blood for the whole body. People with heart failure can still live because their heart still functions, just not efficiently.

Heart failure can cause edema, persistent tiredness, and back-flow of blood and other fluids into the lungs. Heart failure is commonly caused by CAD, hypertension, and diabetes. People suffering from heart failure can benefit from the combination of medications and organ transplant to combat this condition.

Heart failure can be prevented by maintaining a healthy weight, eating a nutritious diet, and exercising regularly. Cardiac failure is the cause of about 300,000 deaths each year.

What is heart failure

Symptoms of heart failure

Hypertensive heart disease

When high blood pressure is not controlled, it frequently leads to hypertensive heart disease. Prolonged high blood pressure causes the myocardial structure, or heart muscle, coronary vasculature, and the entire circulatory system to change.

These changes cause other problems in the heart, such as coronary artery disease, systolic and diastolic dysfunction, myocardial infarction, and other heart diseases. Hypertensive heart disease, therefore, refers to those conditions that result from increased blood pressure.

Hypertensive heart disease is caused by the increased pressure needed by the heart to pump blood—if this is not treated, the heart muscle will become very thick, and congestive heart failure may occur. High blood pressure can also cause atherosclerosis to worsen. With the increasing rate of high blood pressure among adults, it is important to adhere to recommended measures to help avoid hypertensive heart disease.

Hypertension

Hypertensive heart disease

Risk factors for heart disease: Frequently asked questions

Systolic and diastolic dysfunction

Myocardial infarction

Inflammatory heart disease

Inflammatory heart disease occurs when the heart manifests pain and gets swollen as a result of bacterial infection, viral infection, internal problems within the heart, environmental materials from the environment.

Inflammatory heart disease

Symptoms of this include those similarly exhibited in rheumatic fever and Kawasaki disease.

Causes, symptoms, and treatments

Rheumatic fever

Kawasaki disease

The major types are myocarditis, pericarditis, and endocarditis. Myocarditis refers to the inflammation that occurs within the heart muscle. When pain is felt in the chest, it is possible that myocarditis may be the problem. Diagnosis is made with an electrocardiogram or magnetic resonance imaging test. Pericarditis occurs when the pericardium is inflamed—infection from virus and bacteria can cause it. Infection can also cause endocarditis, but this time, the inflammation is much more pronounced. Symptoms of endocarditis are night sweats and the presence of blood in the urine.

Types of myocarditis

Valvular heart disease

When more than one valve of the heart is damaged, the situation leads to valvular heart disease. For instance, when the aortic and mitral valves on the left division of the heart or the pulmonary and tricuspid valves on the right side develop problems—this often leads to the backward flow of blood.

What causes valvular heart disease

Valvular heart diseases may arise from birth or as a person ages.

Genetic of valvular heart disease

Treatment of valvular heart disease can be by taking medications or by surgery to replace the heart valves. Sometimes, valvular heart disease is caused by rheumatic fever or drugs, such as ergotamine and methysergide.

Valvular heart disease induced by drugs

Heart Valve Diseases

Written by on Apr 21, 2017

Sarah has worked in various roles at Coffee Medical Center including nurse, education director, and quality assurance director.

Last reviewed and updated by on Apr 28, 2020

Caitlin Goodwin, DNP, RN, CNM, is a Board Certified Nurse-Midwife, Registered Nurse, and freelance writer. She has over twelve years of experience in nursing practice.

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