Heart disease is an umbrella term that refers to various acute and chronic medical conditions that affect the various parts of the heart. Our heart is a fist size muscular organ. Today’s lifestyles are hectic and stressful. Stress is one of the major causes of heart diseases. Therefore, it is very important to learn about the various types of heart diseases and other factors relating to the heart disease.
Heart disease is also called cardiovascular disease and it is the number one killer of men and women in USA and the world. It is estimated that almost 700,000 people die of heart disease in the US. Understanding the basics of heart disease will go a long way in preventing and controlling the adverse effects of this disease.
So if we want to learn the basics of heart disease, the best place to start from is learning the various types of heart diseases.
Coronary Heart Disease
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is one of the most prevalent forms of heart disease. CHD refers to the condition when the coronary arteries which supply blood to the heart are blocked. Build-up of fatty deposits over a period of time leads to the formation of plaque (atherosclerosis). Plaque buildup is what leads to the hardening and narrowing of these arteries. Plaque consists of fatty substances, cholesterol and lipids. Insufficient blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart can lead to heart attack or angina. Angina refers to chest pain or discomfort that usually occurs when the heart muscle does not get enough blood.
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy is a heart disease that refers to an abnormality of the heart muscle. In medical terms, the heart muscle is called as the myocardium. It is a condition in which the heart muscle weakens due to various reasons. This weakening of the heart muscle results in inadequate heart pumping and other heart abnormalities. Cardiomyopathy could be congenital or it may develop due to certain external factors.
There are different types of cardiomyopathies. They are classified into restrictive, hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies. Most of the cases are idiopathic, which means that the cause is unknown or incompletely understood.
Restrictive cardiomyopathy refers to a condition when abnormal material accumulates in the wall of the heart, thus reducing the flexibility of the ventricles’ walls. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a condition when one or more walls of the heart thicken, thereby reducing the flexibility of the heart muscles. Dilated cardiomyopathy occurs when one or more chambers of the heart dilate, thereby leading to an enlargement of one of the chambers of the heart.
Heart Failure
Heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure (CHF) is a heart disease that most of us are familiar with. Due to a number of reasons, over a period of time, the heart becomes less effective at circulating blood. In other words, it is unable to completely fill or empty the chambers of the heart. This results in blood backing up in the legs, feet, hands and liver. A person suffering from heart failure would experience swelling, shortness of breath and fatigue.
Myocarditis
Myocarditis is a heart disease that refers to a condition where there is an inflammation of the heart muscle. This condition is often due to some viral infection. Very often, it begins with an acute onset of shortness of breath or irregular heart beat. It can often cause heart failure.
Pericardial
Pericardial heart disease relates to the sac surrounding the heart. Inflammation of the pericardium, which is what the sac surrounding the heart is known as, can cause increased friction and pain in the chest cavity. Bacterial or fungal infection, trauma, cancer, previous heart attack and autoimmune process have all been identified as the causes of pericardial disease.
Vulvular
Vulvular heart diseases, as the term indicates, refer to diseases of the heart valves. There are four valves in your heart that keep the blood flowing in the right direction. Due to some reasons, these valves could get damaged and that might lead to their narrowing (stenosis), leaking (regurgitation or insufficiency) or improper closing (prolapse).
This basic understanding of the most common types of heart diseases will help us take better care of our heart.