Heart Disease

Heart disease is A condition that affects the heart muscle or the blood vessels of the heart. The medical encyclopedia defines heart disease as any disorder that affects the heart's ability to function normally. The most common cause of heart disease is narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart itself. This happens slowly over time.

Some heart diseases can be present at birth (congenital heart diseases).

Other causes include the following:

• Hypertension
• Abnormal function of the heart valves
• Abnormal electrical rhythm of the heart
• Weakening of the heart's pumping function caused by infection or toxins

Heart disease is an umbrella term for a number of different diseases which affect the heart. The most common heart diseases are:

• Coronary heart disease: A disease of the heart itself caused by the accumulation of atheromatous plaques within the walls of the arteries that supply the myocardium.
• Ischaemic heart disease: Another disease of the heart itself, characterized by reduced blood supply to the organ.
• Cardiovascular disease: A sub-umbrella term for a number of diseases that that affect the heart itself and/or the blood vessel system, especially the veins and arteries leading to and from the heart. Research on disease dimorphism suggests that women who suffer with cardiovascular disease usually suffer from forms that affect the blood vessels while men usually suffer from forms that affect the heart muscle itself. Well known causes of cardiovascular disease include diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.
• Pulmonary heart disease: A failure of the right side of the heart.
• Hereditary heart disease: Heart disease caused by unavoidable genetic factors
  Hypertensive heart disease, heart disease caused by high blood pressure, especially localised high blood pressure.
• Inflammatory heart disease: Heart disease that involves inflammation of the heart muscle and/or the tissue surrounding it.
• Valvular heart disease: Heart disease that affects the valves of the heart.

Heart Disease Symptoms

The most common symptom is angina. Angina can be described as a discomfort, heaviness, pressure, aching, burning, fullness, squeezing or painful feeling in your chest. It can be mistaken for indigestion or heartburn. Angina is usually felt in the chest, but may also be felt in the shoulders, arms, neck, throat, jaw or back.

Other symptoms that can occur with coronary artery disease include:

• Shortness of breath
• Palpitations (irregular heart beats, skipped beats or a "flip-flop" feeling in your chest)
• A faster heartbeat
• Weakness or dizziness
• Nausea
• Sweating

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Risk Factors

The following factors, which contribute to the development of heart disease, have been determined from the Framingham Heart Study and published by the American Heart Association's journal, Circulation as well as in an online Scientific Statement.

Major Risk Factors

• Tobacco smoking
• Hypertension
• Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
• Diabetes mellitus
• Advancing age

While high serum cholesterol is included in the AHA's list, this factor has been discounted as a cause by various studies (a number of examples are listed above). A director of the Framingham Heart Study, Dr William Kannel, is on record as saying "total plasma cholesterol is a powerful predictor of death related to CHD". Curiously, this is completely contradicted by the data of his own project (which at the time of his statement had not yet been published). However, his successor as director, Dr William Castelli, made a different statement (quoted above) which is consistent with and supported by the collected data.

Other Risk Factors

• Obesity
• Physical inactivity
• Family history of heart disease
• Hypertriglyceridemia
• Small low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles
• Increased lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a])
• Increased serum homocysteine
• Abnormalities in several coagulation factors

Nine Factors that Affect your Heart's Health

Nine risk factors account for 90% of the heart disease in every population on earth, says Yusuf, a global heart specialist at McMaster University in Toronto.

Read Full Story: Nine Factors that Affect your Heart's Health

Heart Disease Prevention

1. Do not smoke or use tobacco products
2. Exercise
3. Eat a heart healthy diet
4. Maintain a healthy weight
5. Get regular health screenings

Nutrition

Antioxidant supplements: Can they prevent heart disease?

Much research has been done to evaluate the potential role of antioxidant supplements in preventing heart disease. But there is no conclusive evidence to support this possible benefit.

Read Full Story: Mayo Clinic: Antioxidant supplements: Can they prevent heart disease?

Dietary fiber: An essential part of a healthy diet

Dietary fiber offers many health benefits. Here's how to include more in your diet.

Read Full Story: Mayo Clinic: Dietary fiber: An essential part of a healthy diet

Eating for a Healthy Heart

Eat Healthy to Help Prevent Heart Disease

Read Full Story: Mayo Clinic: Eat Healthy to Help Prevent Heart Disease

Mediterranean Diet

What is the "Mediterranean" diet?

Read Full Story: American Heart Association: Mediterranean Diet

Articles

What is Heart Disease

When you think of heart disease, usually people think of coronary artery disease (narrowing of the arteries leading to the heart), but coronary artery disease is just one type of cardiovascular disease.

Read Full Story: WebMD: Heart Diseases That Affect the Heart and Cardiovascular System

Abnormal Heart Rhythm

An arrhythmia (also called dysrhythmia) is an irregular heartbeat. Heart rates can also be irregular.

Read Full Story: WebMD: Abnormal Heart Rhythm

Your Guide to Heart Failure

Heart failure affects nearly 5 million Americans. Roughly 550,000 people are diagnosed with heart failure each year. It is the leading cause of hospitalization in people older than 65.

Read Full Story: WebMD: Your Guide to Heart Failure

Heart Valve Disease

According to the American Heart Association, about 5 million Americans are diagnosed with valvular heart disease each year.

Read Full Story: WebMD: Heart Valve Disease

Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease is a type of defect or malformation in one or more structures of the heart or blood vessels that occurs before birth.

Read Full Story: WebMD: Congenital Heart Disease

Heart Muscle Disease (Cardiomyopathy)

Cardiomyopathy, or heart muscle disease, is a type of progressive heart disease in which the heart is abnormally enlarged, thickened and/or stiffened.

Read Full Story: WebMD: Cardiomyopathy - Heart Muscle Disease

Pericardial Disease (Pericarditis)

Pericardial disease, or pericarditis, is inflammation of any of the layers of the pericardium.

Read Full Story: WebMD: Heart Disease and Pericarditis

Aortic Aneurysm

An aneurysm is an abnormal bulge in the wall of an artery. Normally, the walls of arteries are thick and muscular, allowing them to withstand a large amount of pressure.

Read Full Story: WebMD: Aortic Aneurysm and Your Heart

Vascular Disease

Vascular disease includes any condition that affects your circulatory system. This ranges from diseases of your arteries, veins and lymph vessels to blood disorders that affect circulation.

Read Full Story: WebMD: Vascular Disease and Your Heart