The Most Common Types Of Heart Disease
Verlyn Ross
This article is written to take some of the mystery (and
hopefully, some of the fear) from the words, "heart disease."
Although there are many different types of heart disease when
someone mentions the words "heart disease" most people think of
coronary heart disease first. Coronary heart disease is a
"narrowing of the arteries that lead to the heart" however it is
important to stress that coronary heart disease is only one form
of heart disease.
Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common types of heart
disease. In fact, it is the number one cause of death for both
men and women in the United States. Heart disease affects both
the structure of the heart and the functioning of it or sometimes
both. A number of conditions fall under the category of heart
disease and these include coronary heart disease (which takes
into account heart attacks), heart failure, heart valve disease,
abnormal heart rhythms (or arrhythmias), congenital heart
disease, pericardial disease, aorta disease and Marfan syndrome,
heart muscle disease (or cardiomyopathy), and vascular disease
(blood vessel disease).
Coronary artery disease (or abbreviated to CAD) is another name
for atherosclerosis or simply hardening of the arteries. It is
the arteries that make it possible for nutrients and oxygen to
make it to the heart. This is also one of the more common types
of heart disease.
The average heart beats 60 to 100 times per minute in a steady
even manner. This works out to be approximately 100,000 each and
every day. However for reasons unknown to the medical community,
sometimes the heart falls out of rhythm. This leads to an
abnormal heartbeat or an irregular heartbeat, which is known as
arrhythmia. Also known as a dysrhythmia, in this cause a change
takes place to the rhythm of the heart, which can lead to a
heartbeat that is too fast, too slow or uneven in how it beats.
This is one of the more unusual types of heart disease.
The term "heart failure" is somewhat misleading. Heart failure
does not mean that the heart has failed or that it has ceased to
work properly. Instead it means that the pumping action of the
heart is not as good as it should be. Heart failure affects an
average of five million Americans every year and is the number
one cause of hospitalization for individuals over the age of 65.
The heart has four chambers and heart valves lie at the exit of
each one and allow one-way blood flow to make its way through the
heart. Heart valve disease takes place when there is a problem
with any one of these heart valves. Some examples of heart valve
disease include aortic stenosis, mitral valve insufficiency and
mitral valve prolapse.
Congenital heart disease is a problem that occurs before a baby
is born and is a defect in the way the heart is structured or
else in the structure of the blood vessels. Congenital heart
disease sometimes does not show itself until a person is a child
and in some cases, until they become an adult. Congenital heart
defects affect an average of 8 out of every 1,000 babies born on
an annual basis.
Cardiomyopathies are diseases that occur to affect the muscle of
the heart. Generally this includes heart muscles that are
enlarged or else have become stiff or thickened over a period of
time. Heart muscle disease makes it difficult for the heart to
adequately pump blood. If it is left untreated, a cardiomyopathy
will get worse as time progresses and can very often lead to both
heart failure as well as abnormal heart rhythms.
Pericarditis is a condition that involves the lining of the heart
becoming inflamed. This is one of the more unusual types of heart
disease. This condition is actually rather rare and is most
often caused by one type of infection or another.
The aorta is the biggest artery in the heart and a number of
conditions can cause it to either tear or to widen (or dilate).
Thee include the genetic condition known as Marfan Syndrome, high
blood pressure, atherosclerosis, connective tissue disorders and
injury. This is one of the types of heart disease that is
somewhat rare.
Verlyn Ross owns and operates a website dedicated specifically to providing
health and fitness information. It includes a wealth of free articles in
which you may have an interest. For a great place to get Answers, go here!
http://www.achieve-health-fitness.com
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