Your Heart Rate: Is It Too Fast Or Too Slow?

by Ombladom Freacka

Beside cancer, cardiovascular disease kills a lot more than 2,000 Americans everyday. Approximately 60 million Americans have heart disease.
I. Causes of Heart Diseases


There are many reasons for heart diseases. Most of heart diseases are caused by hypertension contributes to hardening of the arteries. High amounts of bad cholesterol (LDL) build up within the arteries due to uncontrolled diet rich in amounts of saturated fat and trans fat. All these add to the formation of atherosclerosis lesions and eventually arterial blockage or anything that serves to damage the interior lining of arteries and impedes the transportation of oxygen and nutrition towards the heart can be explained as a risk of heart disease.

II Symptoms of Heart diseases
Here are a few early indication of cardiovascular disease symptoms:
1. Leg cramps during walking

Leg cramps during exercise may be brought on by dehydration. You should drink lots of fluid during exercise. Leg cramps occur once the muscle suddenly and forcefully contracts. The most common muscles to contract in this manner are muscles that cross two joints. Leg cramps during walking may be an indication of heart disease brought on by arteries in your leg being clogged up by cholesterol in consequence of not enough oxygen being sent to the cells in your leg.
2. Heart problems

Chest pain is brought on by arteries within the heart temporarily being blocked up. Its also caused by inadequate oxygen supply towards the heart muscle or coronary . The persistence of chest pain would be an earlier indication of heart diseases.
3. Shortness of breath

Difficulty breathing (dyspnea) may be the major symptom of the left ventricular insufficiency. Individuals with shortness of breath are 4 times more prone to die from a heart disease related cause than individuals with no symptoms.
4. Headaches

People see sparkling zigzag lines or loss of vision before a migraine attack may be at particular risk of future cardiovascular problems. Generally headaches dont cause heart diseases but an abrupt, explosive start of great pain may be.
5. Dizziness

Dizziness can have many causes including low blood count, low iron within the bloodstream along with other blood disorders, dehydration, and viral illnesses. Since there are a variety of problems that can produce these symptoms, anybody experiencing instances of problems or dizziness ought to be checked because of your doctor.
6. Palpitations

Palpitations is an extremely common characteristic of cardiovascular disease. Palpitations are skips in the heart beats and irregular heart beats.
7. Loss of awareness

Its a common symptom, most people distribute at least one time in their lives. However, sometimes loss of consciousness indicates an unsafe or even life-threatening condition for example cardiovascular disease so when loss of consciousness occurs it is important to figure out the cause.
There are lots of more symptoms such as fatigue, memory defects, and alterations in skin tone and temperature.

III. Kinds of Heart Diseases
The heart is really a four chambered, hollow muscle and double acting pump that is found in the chest between the lungs. Heart diseases caused by high blood pressure contributes to hardening of the arteries. High amounts of bad cholesterol (LDL) develop in the arteries as a result of uncontrolled diet with high levels of saturated fats and trans fat. Each one of these add to the formation of atherosclerosis lesions and eventually arterial blockage.

There are some major types of heart diseases:

1. Kind of cardiovascular disease affecting heart chambers
Once we mention in the previous article, the heart is a four chambered hollow muscle and double acting pump that is located in the chest between your lungs. Heart diseases brought on by high blood pressure contributes to hardening from the arteries. High amounts of bad cholesterol (LDL) build up in the arteries as a result of uncontrolled diet rich in levels of saturated fats and trans fat. Each one of these increase the formation of atherosclerosis lesions and eventually arterial blockage.

In the following paragraphs, we will discuss heart disease affecting ones heart chambers.
Heart failure is caused by the heart not pumping as much blood as it should so the body doesnt get as much blood and oxygen it needs. The malfunctioning from the heart chambers are due to damage brought on by narrowed or blocked arteries leading to muscle of your heart.
There are 4 heart chambers as follow:
* The right atrium

* The left atrium
* The right ventricle
* The left ventricle.

Heart diseases modify the heart chambers include:
A. Congestive heart failure

Heart failure is caused by the heart not pumping just as much blood as it should so the body doesnt get just as much blood and oxygen it needs. The malfunctioning of the heart chambers are due to damage brought on by narrowed or blocked arteries resulting in muscle of your heart.
a) Diastolic dysfunction:

The contraction function is common but theres impaired relaxation from the heart, impairing its ability to fill with blood resulting in the blood going back to the heart to amass in the lungs or veins.
b) Systolic dysfunction:

The relaxing function is normal but theres impaired contraction of the heart causing the heart to not pump out as much blood thats returned to it because it normally does as a result of more blood remaining in the lower chambers of the heart.
B. Pulmonary cardiovascular disease

Pulmonary heart disease is brought on by an enlarged right ventricle. Its called heart disease resulting from a lung disorder in which the blood flowing into the lungs is slowed or blocked causing increased lung pressure. The right side from the heart needs to pump harder to push against the increased pressure and this can lead to enlargement from the right ventricle.
2. Heart Disease affecting heart muscles

When it comes to heart diseases affecting heart muscles, the heart muscles are stiff, increasing the amount of pressure required to expand for blood to flow into the heart or even the narrowing of the passage as a result of obstructing blood flow from the heart.
Heart diseases affecting heart muscles include:

A. Cardiomyopathy

Heart muscle becomes inflamed and work as well as it should. There might be multiple causes such as hypertension, heart valve disease, artery diseases or congenital heart defects.
a) Dilated cardiomyopathy

The heart cavity is enlarged and stretched. Blood flows more slowly with an enlarged heart, causing formation of thrombus due to clots sticking to the inner lining of the heart, breaking from the right ventricle into the pulmonary circulation in the lung or just being dislodged and carried into the bodys circulation to form emboli .
b) Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

The wall between your two ventricles becomes enlarged, obstructing the blood flow in the left ventricle. Sometimes the thickened wall distorts one leaflet from the mitral valve, causing it to leak. The the signs of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy include difficulty breathing, dizziness, fainting and angina pectoris.
c) Restrictive cardiomyopathy

The ventricles becomes excessively rigid, so its harder for the ventricles to fill with blood between heartbeats. The symptoms of restrictive cardiomyopathy include shortness of breath, swollen hands and feet.
B. Myocarditis Myocarditis is an inflammation from the heart muscles or even the weaken from the heart muscles. The the signs of myocarditis include fever, chest pains, congestive heart failure and palpitation.
3. Heart disease affecting heart valves
Heart diseases affecting heart valves occur when the mitral valve in the heart narrows, resulting in the heart to operate harder to function blood in the left atrium in to the ventricle.
Here are a few kinds of heart disease affecting heart valves:

a. Mitral Stenosis
Mitral Stenosis is a heart valve disorder which involves a narrowing or blockage of the opening of the mitral valve resulting in the volume and pressure of blood in the left atrium increases.

b. Mitral valves regurgitation

Mitral regurgitation is the cardiovascular disease in which your hearts mitral valve doesnt close tightly resulting in the blood to be unable to undertake the heart efficiently. The signs of mitral valve regurgitation are fatigue and difficulty breathing.
c. Mitral valves prolapse

In mitral valve prolapse, either leaflets from the valve are too large leading to uneven closure of the valve during each heartbeat. Symptoms of mitral valves prolapse are palpitation, difficulty breathing, dizzy, fatigue and chest pains.
d. Aortic Stenosis

With aging, protein collagen of the valve leaflets are destroyed and calcium is deposited around the leaflets causing scarring, thickening, and stenosis from the valve therefore increasing the deterioration of the valve leaflets resulting in the symptoms and heart disease of aortic stenosis.
e. Aortic regurgitation

Aortic regurgitation may be the leaking of the aortic valve of the heart that triggers blood to flow in the reverse direction during ventricular diastole, from the aorta into the left ventricle. The signs of aortic regurgitation include fatigue or weakness, difficulty breathing, heart problems, palpitation and irregular heart beats.
f. Tricuspid stenosis

Tricuspid stenosis may be the narrowing of the orifice from the tricuspid valve from the heart causing increased potential to deal with blood flow with the valve. The signs of tricuspid stenosis include fatigue, enlarged liver, abdominal swelling, neck discomfort and leg and ankle swelling.
g. Tricuspid regurgitation.

Tricuspid regurgitation may be the failure from the right ventricular causing blood to leak back through the tricuspid valve in the right ventricle into the right atrium from the heart. The signs of tricuspid regurgitation include leg and ankle swelling and swelling in the abdomen.

Heart Problems in Children - Wockhardt Foundation

by Wockhardt Foudation

Heart disease is not a significant cause of loss of life among children and youngsters, but it is the major cause of death among adults.
Congenital heart problems are the most common birth defect, affecting 1 in every 100 infants. Most of the threats are usually passed down through family members (they are hereditary) or they are the result of another illness or disease. These risks usually can be controlled. Congenital heart disease (heart problems you are born with) cannot be changed, but better tests and treatments are now available for children with these types of heart problems.

What causes a heart defect?
Usually a heart defect develops when the baby is still growing in the womb. Usually doctors cannot tell why this has occurred and it is not caused by anything the mother did during her pregnancy.
Sometimes heart problems are due to genetics (ie: family history).
Sometimes certain diseases in childhood cause harm to the heart.
Sometimes children get problems with their heart after a viral infection. This is incredibly unusual.

Signs and symptoms of heart defects
Many children appear healthy and their parents do not know they have a heart defects. If children do have symptoms, they often develop in the first few weeks after they are born.
Common symptoms include:
'Blue baby' - blue skin and blue around the lips.
Difficulty feeding.
Shortness of breath.
These symptoms result from a decreased oxygen supply to the body, which happens because:
Blood does not have as much oxygen as usual, or
The heart does not pump as well as it should.
Again, some of these risk factors can be changed, treated, or modified, and some cannot. But it is important to realize that prevention is the best way to avoid a heart defect later in life. Controlling as many risk factors as possible, developing in childhood, will help decrease your child's risk of developing heart disease as an adult.

Treatment for heart defects
If signs develop very quickly, or if your baby is a newborn, your physician will arrange tests and therapy much more quickly. Most heart defects can be fixed with medication. Sometimes surgery or other techniques may be needed. In some cases there is no need for any treatment.
Medicine
For some heart problems children can take medicine which can be ceased once the problem has enhanced. Sometimes medicines need to be taken for many years or even for all their life.
Surgery
Heart surgery can provide a life-long cure for some heart conditions. A heart surgeon will discuss the threats and benefits in detail with you. In very rare cases where surgery, techniques, or medicine does not help, a child may need a heart transplant.
Other Procedures
Some techniques include putting a thin tube, known as a catheter, through the veins to the heart to treat the heart defect. Your child is given a general anaesthetic for this.

Key points to remember
Heart defects are quite common in kids (about 1 in 100).
Treatment for heart defects relies on the cause of the problem. In some cases treatment may not be necessary. In others, your child may need medicines, medical procedures or surgery treatment (and sometimes a combination of all).
Kids with minimal heart related problems often live long and normal lives without therapy.
Children who need treatment often have generally regular life with little or no restrictions to what they can do.