Facts About Heart Disease You Need To Know

by Cindy Heller

Basically, heart disease is a disorder affecting the ability of the heart to function normally. There are many forms of heart disease of varied etiology.
The most widespread form of heart disease is high cholesterol. In the initial stages of the disease, lesions and cracks will form in the walls of blood vessel walls, usually close to the heart itself. The body will repair the damage by depositing fatty substances such as cholesterol and lipoproteins to fill the cracks.
If the body does not get adequate vitamin C that are vital for keeping the blood vessel walls from cracking, the repeated deposition of fatty substances can clog the blood vessels and thus cause a stroke or heart attack.

Types of Heart Diseases 

The common forms of heart disease are: coronary heart disease, ischaemic heart disease, pulmonary heart disease, hereditary heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, inflammatory heart disease, and valvular heart disease.

Heart diseases may also occur due to congenital reasons, heart valve malfunction, electrical rhythm of the heart going out of sync, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, aortic regurgitation, heart attacks and heart failure.

Causes of Heart Disease

The major causes of heart disease include obesity, smoking, hypertension, diabetic and a sedentary lifestyle. Others include menopause in women, getting on in age, especially after reaching sixty-five years of age and finally, the arterial walls being struck down with infections.

Damage to the heart muscle or valves due to a congenital defect, as well as inflammation and damage associated with various viral, bacterial, fungal or parasitic diseases can also cause heart disease.
Disease can also cause heart disease, for example atherosclerosis, dermatomyositis, Friedrich's ataxia, hemochromatosis, Kawasaki disease and Paget's disease of bone. Rheumatic fever and syphilis can also cause heart disease, as can genetic or autoimmune disorders in which cellular proteins in the heart muscle are deranged or which disrupt enzymes affecting cardiac function.

Common Symptoms of Heart Disease

The most common symptoms of heart disease include heaviness or pressure on the chest; dizziness; nausea; shortness of breath; back or shoulder pain; irregular or fast heartbeats and excessive heart palpitations. If one encounter any of these problems, it would be prudent to consult a doctor as soon as possible.

Diagnosing Heart Disease

Everyone should be concerned with heart disease and should discuss testing for heart disease with a doctor especially if one have a family history or aggravating lifestyle choices. High blood pressure, frequent loss of breath, heavy smoking or drinking, obesity, high cholesterol, inactivity and diabetes are sound reasons for heart disease testing.

Cure for Heart Disease

On diagnosis of heart disease, the doctor will probably recommend that a patient adopt a healthy lifestyle such as having frequent exercise, a healthy diet, avoiding alcohol and cigarettes. The next treatment will more than likely involve medications and finally surgery. Although there are many different forms of treatment for heart disease, there is no cure for heart disease. There are promising theories, however none yet have been perfected yet.

Cellular therapy is promising as a possible cure for heart disease. Cellular products have been shown to hold great potential for the treating of damaged and diseased tissues in the body. The sources for cellular product also come in a variety of sources, such as bone marrow stem cell and peripheral blood, as well as from myoblasts from skeletal muscle cells.
Cellular therapy is a growing field for clinical research. It is of growing interest to medical researchers as potential treatments for congestive heart failure and ischemic heart disease, for instance.
The research to date has shown positive results. There are also various other forms of promising treatment. So a cure for heart disease may be a reality in the future.
All treatment for heart disease should be discussed with a doctor but most of the medications will be available on prescription. If the medication is not effective, then the last option may be surgery. There are wide ranges of surgeries and many of them are less invasive so recovery time is shorter.
One should also understand that heart disease is preventable by living a healthy lifestyle such as regular exercise, having low salt and low fat diets as well as abstaining from alcohol and smoking. After all, prevention is much better than cure.

Major Types Of Degenerative Heart Disease

by Joann Cheong

As you may know, heart disease comes in a number of types. All types are serious, degenerative conditions that can cause sudden death. Given this fact, degenerative heart disease is no doubt a health problem that needs to be considered and solved.

However, before one can solve degenerative heart disease, it is important first to know that major types of such disease. Understanding of these types can help you find the right solution and treatment.

So what are the major types of degenerative heart disease? Consider the following:

Coronary Heart Disease

This is by far the most common type. This is often associated to heart attack and chest pain, and many studies have shown that about 7 million people in the United States alone suffer from this condition.

The coronary heart disease actually occurs when the coronary arteries that carry the blood and oxygen to the heart become narrowed with fatty substances, known as plaque. The plaque builds up on the inner wall of the arteries, and when the arteries are narrowed, the blood and oxygen flow to the heart is slowed down. This may even lead to full blocking of the arteries, leading to heart attack.

Congenital Heart Disease

This type is often identified by a number of heart defects that are present at birth, hence the name. The defects may include patent ductus arteriosus, coarctation of the aorta, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, atrioventrivular septal defect, aortic stenosis, pulmonary stenosis, transposition of the great vessels, tetralogy of fallot, truncus arteriosus, tricuspid atresia, total anomalous pulmonary venous return, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. All of these defects occur before or shortly after birth, making it one of the leading causes of deaths in newborn.

Rheumatic Heart Disease

This is also considered by many as one of the major types knowing that millions of people in the whole world are affected by it. Basically, this affects children and adolescents. It involves damage to the entire heart and its membranes. Also, it is important to note that this type is a complication of rheumatic fever that is said to have resulted from an untreated strep throat. This condition occurs with the heart valve is damaged due to the fever, leaving it incapable of opening and closing properly.

Angina Pectoris

Commonly known as chest pain, angina pectoris is a major type that affects people of different age. It is actually a specific type of pain in the chest that resulted from an inadequate flow of blood through the blood vessels. This condition is considered as one of the symptoms of almost all types of heart disease, so it is not only deemed as a disease itself, but a symptom as well.

There are other types such as atherosclerosis, arrhythmia, myocarditis, and a lot more. The best way to treat these types, however, is to ask for recommendations first from your doctor before opting for one of the available treatments. This is highly important as degenerative heart disease comes in a number of types with varying symptoms and levels of severity