Cardiovascular Diseases

What are Cardiovascular Diseases?

Cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular diseases refers to the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels (arteries and veins).

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death and disability in the United States and most European countries.

A definition of cardiovascular disease doesn't include an age. In fact, early signs of cardiovascular disease have been noted during surgeries performed on young soldiers wounded in battle. It has been estimated that plaque build-up was seen in the arteries of nearly 90% of the troops wounded in Vietnam. That's pretty amazing when one considers that these soldiers were in their teens and early twenties. So, we need to take a good look at exactly what cardiovascular disease is, what causes it, and how we can prevent it.

The term 'cardiovascular disease' is used to cover a group of problems related to the heart or the body's overall circulatory system. These problems include heart attacks, strokes, arrythmias, congestive heart failure, ischemia, hypertension, angina, and other dysfunctions. For the sake of brevity, this article will focus on heart disease and its prevention. The reason for concentrating on heart disease is simple. Someone in the United States dies every minute from a heart attack.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one health problem in Western society. It is the leading cause of death for over one million people each year in the United States. It is estimated that over 50 million Americans currently have cardiovascular disease although many will not know it because they have no symptoms yet. In fact, 25% of the people who have heart attacks had no symptoms prior to the incident.

Following cigarette smoking, the major factor that contributes to heart disease is one's diet. There are several dietary changes that can help prevent the onset of heart disease. Start by eating less red meat and dairy products. For protein, you can eat fish, skinless chicken and turkey. Avoid tobacco, alcohol, chocolate, sugar, fatty foods, fried foods, spicy foods, soft drinks, and all processed foods such as white bread.

Make sure that you get enough essential fatty acids, particularly omega 3. Eating fish provides the availability of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, a low fat-to-protein ratio, and a high mineral content, particularly in ocean fish. The beneficial fats may help prevent cardiovascular disease.

A high fiber content in your diet is helpful. Eating lots of raw foods such as salads, fruits, and vegetables supplies an adequate level of fiber. Cooking tends to break down the fiber of most foods.

Low sodium diets are beneficial in preventing heart disease. Eliminate foods that are high in salt content. Some foods and additives to avoid include foods with preservatives or mold inhibitors, canned vegetables, diet soft drinks, meat tenderizers, commercially prepared foods, MSG, Saccharin, and baking soda.

Studies have shown that there are several nutritional supplements that can be helpful in heart disease prevention. As in the case of the herbs, each of these supplements has its own properties and each one can have severe side effects if taken inappropriately. The heart-helping supplements are coenzyme Q10, calcium, magnesium, L-carnitine, lecithin, potassium, selenium, vitamin E, essential fatty acids, copper, multienzyme complex, bromelain, vitamin B complex, vitamin C.

Perhaps the biggest risk factor of all in heart disease is lifestyle. That means that heart attacks and heart disease are very preventable. It just takes a little work, like everything worthwhile in life does. The key lifestyle changes that will help keep your heart healthy are things that we all know to do. It's interesting to see that a lot of these risk factors work off of each other. For example, losing weight will usually lower your cholesterol and blood pressure.

The best changes to make for preventing heart disease are:

Quit smoking.

Lose weight.

Lower your cholesterol.

Lower your blood pressure.

Reduce stress.

Exercise regularly.

One last bit of information that I thought might be helpful is a list of terms that you might hear in the discussion of heart disease. It's always better to know what your doctor is describing and the definitions below can help you with that.

Common Heart Disease Terms

Angina - a sense of suffocating contraction or tightening of the lower part of the chest.

Arrhythmia - an irregularity in the force or rhythm of the heartbeat.

Atherosclerosis - a form of arteriosclerosis characterized by the deposition of plaques containing cholesterol and lipids on the innermost layer of the walls of large and medium-sized arteries.

Arteriosclerosis - a chronic disease in which thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the arterial walls result in impaired blood circulation. It develops with aging, and in hypertension, diabetes, and other conditions.

Atrium - either of the upper chambers of the heart that receives blood from the veins and forces it into a ventricle.

Cardiomyopathy - a disease or disorder of the heart muscle, especially of unknown or obscure cause.

Congestive Heart Failure - a condition marked by weakness, edema, and shortness of breath that is caused by the inability of the heart to maintain adequate blood circulation in the peripheral tissues and the lungs.

Coronary - the blood vessels surrounding the heart or an obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery by a blood clot.

Fibrillation - rapid uncoordinated twitching movements that replace the normal rhythmic contraction of the heart and may cause a lack of circulation and pulse.

Hypertension - arterial disease in which chronic high blood pressure is the primary symptom.

Ischemia - a decrease in the blood supply to a bodily organ, tissue, or part caused by constriction or obstruction of the blood vessels.

Mitral Valve Prolapse - a condition resulting from the mitral valve not regulating the flow of blood between the left atrium and left ventricle of the heart.

Myocardial Infarction - destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle.

Palpitations - irregular, rapid beating or pulsation of the heart.

Peripheral Vascular Disease - a condition involving circulatory problems in the extremities.

Stroke - a sudden loss of brain function caused by a blockage or rupture of a blood vessel to the brain.

Tachycardia - a rapid heart rate, especially one above 100 beats per minute in an adult.

Ventricle - a.) the chamber on the left side of the heart that receives arterial blood from the left atrium and contracts to force it into the aorta. b.) the chamber on the right side of the heart that receives venous blood from the right atrium and forces it into the pulmonary artery.

By the time that heart problems are detected, the underlying cause (atherosclerosis) is usually quite advanced, having progressed for decades. There is therefore increased emphasis on preventing atherosclerosis by modifying risk factors, such as healthy eating, exercise and avoidance of smoking.

Hypertension Cholesterol

Further Information Regarding Cardiovascular Diseases

Screening for Peripheral Artery Disease
Edmonton researchers recommend that people over age 40 be screened for peripheral artery disease (PAD), which puts people at high risk for serious medical complications including heart disease, stroke, and possible lower limb amputation.

Women Have Same Heart Attack Symptoms as Males
The gender difference between men and women is a lot smaller than we've been led to believe when it comes to heart attack symptoms, according to a new study presented to the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Mending a Broken Heart
By mimicking the way embryonic stem cells develop into heart muscle in a lab, Duke University bio-engineers believe they have taken an important first step toward growing a living "heart patch" to repair heart tissue damaged by disease.

Americans Concerned about Heart Health
To help draw attention to National Child Health Day (today), the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) has released findings from a new national consumer survey and launched a campaign to educate families about heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a heart disease that is present in the person when they are born. There are a number of different forms of congenital heart defects which vary in their severity. These defects can affect different structures in the person's heart, to include the veins leading to their heart, the heart valves, the arteries that leave their heart, as well as the different interrelationships and connections between these different parts of the person's heart.

Rheumatic Heart Disease
Rheumatic heart disease is a condition involving permanent damage to a person's heart caused by rheumatic fever. The person's heart valve is damaged through a process that commonly begins with strep throat, caused by the streptococcus A bacteria, that might eventually lead to rheumatic fever.

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) - Facts, Diagnosis, and Treatments
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common form of circulatory problem involving a narrowing of the person's arteries, which reduces the flow of blood the their limbs. When a person develops PAD their extremities do not get enough blood flow to keep up with the demands of their body, causing symptoms such as leg pain when the person walks.

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) - Facts, Diagnosis, and Treatments
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) develops over time through a combination of calcium, fatty materials, and scar tissue which build up in a person's arteries that supply their heart with blood.

Signs and Symptoms of Acute Heart Failure
Although heart failure is a chronic condition, acute exacerbations are frequent and occur with serious complications; patients with heart failure and their families can help improve prognosis in acute events if they are taught to recognise the tell-tale signs of worsening condition and seek immediate medical help.

Natural Heart Pacemakers an Alternative
Artificial heart pacemakers have saved and extended the lives of thousands of people, but they have their shortcomings, such as a fixed pulse rate and a limited life. Could a permanent biological solution be possible?

Targeted Drug Therapy Prevents Exercise Induced Arrhythmias
A 12-year old Dutch boy bedridden for three years because of an inherited cardiac arrhythmia syndrome can now join his friends on the soccer field thanks to a discovery made by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers.

Drug-eluting Stents Safer and Superior to Bare Metal Stents
Drug-eluting stents were safe and superior to bare metal stents in preventing death and heart attacks among 262,700 "real-world" patients enrolled in a nationwide registry of cardiovascular disease, according to researchers from Duke University Medical Center.

Anti-seizure Medications May Increase Risk of Cardiovascular Problems
New research suggests common anti-seizure medications may increase risk of cardiovascular problems. Novel approach studies anti-convulsant drugs effect on C-reactive protein levels.