What Causes Heart Disease?

Heart disease can account for many conditions that affect the function of the heart.

How Does It Affect the Body?

The heart's main function is to pump blood to the muscles and cells of the body. The health profession's paramount interest with heart disease is to what extent does it affect the heart's ability to pump blood. The term, heart disease, refers to narrowed coronary arteries. Narrowed heart arteries is the main cause of coronary artery disease, or CAD. Coronary artery disease can lead to:

• Stable angina or unstable angina


• Congestive heart failure


• Heart attacks


• Irregular heartbeats, or arrhythmias

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and in other countries world wide, and can be specified by a myriad of other conditions.

What Are The Causes Of The Disease? Atherosclerosis, or clogging of the arteries, is partially or fully responsible for many diseases that affect the heart, including:

• Congestive heart failure


• Heart attacks, also called myocardial infarctions


• Irregular heartbeats, or dysrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia


• Stable angina or unstable angina

Risk Factors include:

• Diabetes


• Excess weight and obesity


• Family history of atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease


• High blood pressure


• High cholesterol and triglyceride levels


• increasing age


• Lack of exercise


• Gender


• Smoking

High blood pressure without the presence of narrowed arteries can also cause heart disease. Increased blood pressure can cause an enlarged heart, or cardiomegaly, and congestive heart failure. It also increases the risk of clogged arteries, which can further damage the heart.

Congenital heart disease, which is present at birth, can result in a heart with an abnormal structure or function. For example, a baby with Down syndrome may have an atrial septal defect and/or ventricular septal defect. Heart valve conditions, such as pulmonary stenosis, may be present at birth as well.

Other Causes:

• Autoimmune disorders


• Heart valve infections


• Myocarditis (infection of the heart muscle)


• Bacterial Pericarditis (infection of the lining around the heart)


• Kidney failure


• Toxins (alcohol and chemotherapy to treat cancer)

Signs and Symptoms Of Heart Disease:

• Chest pain or abdominal distress


• Cough


• Cyanosis, or a bluish discoloration of the skin


• Enlarged veins in the neck F


• Fainting or passing out


• Loss of appetite and weight loss


• Palpitations, or an unusual awareness of the heartbeat


• Shortness of breath


• Swelling in the legs


• Weakness and fatigue

How Is Heart Disease diagnosed?

• Blood and urine tests


• Cardiac catheterization, a special X-ray done with a contrast agent to look at the heart and its blood supply


• Chest X-ray


• Echocardiogram, which uses sound waves to view the beating heart


• Electrocardiogram, or EKG, which shows the electrical activity of the heart


• Stress EKG tests

Treatment:

Treatment can be accomplished by physician prescribed medications, surgery, or both. Your doctor will determine the correct treatment for you after diagnosis has been made.

There are countless elemental factors that can cause heart disease. You doctor will take a thorough medical history, and perform diagnostic tests to determine if you have heart disease. Your risk factors can be significantly reduced by firstly, being aware of what your risks are and getting the appropriate treatment early.