Heart disease is a general term used to describe several different conditions, all of which are potentially fatal, but are also treatable and/or preventable.
Who Gets Heart Disease?
Heart disease, the number one killer of both men and women in the United States, is also on the rise in developing countries. The most common form of heart disease is coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD afflicts an estimated seven million Americans. Each year, approximately 500,000 Americans die from CAD-related heart attacks. Other types of heart disease include cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, and stroke.
How Does the Heart Work?
Heart disease, the number one killer of both men and women in the United States, is also on the rise in developing countries. The most common form of heart disease is coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD afflicts an estimated seven million Americans. Each year, approximately 500,000 Americans die from CAD-related heart attacks. Other types of heart disease include cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, and stroke.
The heart and blood vessels are essentially a transportation system that supplies all the cells of the body, delivering essential materials and carrying away waste products. Using blood as the vehicle, the system carries nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hormones, fats, and many other substances required for the body to function. Oxygen-poor blood travels through the veins to the right side of the heart. The right side pumps blood to the lungs, where the blood picks up oxygen and drops off carbon dioxide (which is excreted from the body when you exhale). The newly oxygenated blood then travels back to the left side of the heart, which pumps blood out through the aorta, the body's largest blood vessel, to the rest of the body. The aorta branches off into smaller arteries, which supply smaller and smaller parts of the body as the arteries themselves decrease in size.
Of course, the heart muscle also requires oxygen and nutrients in order to do its job. Surprisingly, the heart does not use the blood that pumps through it as the source of oxygen and nutrients. Just like every other muscle in the body, the heart gets its blood supply through the coronary arteries, which are the first branches off the aorta.
Types of Heart Disease
Heart disease is a general term that describes many different diseases.
Coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common form of heart disease, is caused by a narrowing or clogging of the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients. CAD can cause angina (chest pain), myocardial infarction (heart attack), andcardiac sudden death (caused by severely abnormal and ineffective beating of the heart)
A stroke occurs when blood vessels supplying the brain become narrowed or clogged. Peripheral vascular disease is similar, but occurs in the arteries that supply the legs. The same problems that can lead to CAD can also cause these diseases.
Congestive heart failure results when the heart muscle becomes weakened and can no longer pump blood efficiently. Common symptoms include shortness of breath, exercise intolerance, and edema (swelling of the legs). Congestive heart failure can result from damage induced by heart attack or cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle).
Cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) can be chronic and relatively harmless, but they can also be more serious, preventing the heart from pumping effectively. In the latter case, arrhythmias can contribute to congestive heart failure or cause cardiac sudden death.
Cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle loses its ability to pump blood. Heart rhythm may be disturbed, resulting in arrhythmias. Cardiomyopathy can be caused by coronary atherosclerosis, but often the cause is unknown. Cardiomyopathy that is unrelated to coronary atherosclerosis is fairly uncommon, affecting about 50,000 Americans. However, unlike many other forms of heart disease, cardiomyopathy often occurs in young people. The condition tends to be progressive and can worsen fairly quickly. Cardiomyopathy is a leading reason for heart transplantation.
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