The heart and blood tubes make up the circulatory system. The cardiovascular system can have many problems, such as endocarditis, rheumatic heart disease, and problems with the conduction system, among others. This article will focus on four of these conditions, which are called cardiovascular disease (CVD) or heart disease:
1.Coronary artery disease (CAD), which is also sometimes called Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), happens when the heart muscle doesn’t get enough blood. This can lead to angina, a myocardial infarction (MI), or heart failure. It’s the cause of one-third to one-half of all CVD cases.
2.Stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) are examples of cerebrovascular disease (CVD).
3.Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an artery illness that affects the limbs and can cause claudication.
4.Aortic atherosclerosis: This includes arteries in the chest and abdomen
How often does cardiovascular disease happen?
Heart disease and stroke are the main reasons people die in the U.S. and around the world.
In the U.S., almost half of all people have some kind of heart disease. It impacts people of all ages, genders, races, and income levels. One in three women and people who were born female die from heart disease or stroke.
Symptoms and signs
What signs do you have arterial disease?
Depending on what caused the cardiovascular disease, the signs can be different. Some signs may be less obvious in older adults and people who were born female. But they can still get heart disease that is very bad.
Signs of heart problems
• Pain in the chest (angina).
• Pressure, heaviness, or pain in the chest, which is sometimes called a “belt around the chest” or a “weight on the chest.”
Having trouble breathing (dyspnea).
• Feeling dizzy or passing out.
• Feeling tired or worn out.
Signs that your blood vessels are blocked all over your body
• Leg pain or cramps when you walk.
• Wounds on the legs that won’t heal.
• Skin on your legs that is cool or hot.
• Your legs getting swollen.
• The face or a part going numb. It might only be on one side of your body.
• Having trouble seeing, talking, or walking.
What kinds of illnesses are circulatory diseases?
Heart diseases come in a lot of different forms, such as, but not limited to:
Arrhythmia is a problem with the way your heart’s electrical signals are sent, which can cause your heart to beat or rhythm in a strange way.
• Valve disease: Your heart valves getting tight or leaking. Heart valves are structures that let blood flow from one chamber or blood stream to another.
Coronary artery disease is a problem with the blood veins in your heart, like when they get blocked.
• Heart failure: The heart can’t pump or relax properly, which causes fluid to build up and shortness of breath.
• Peripheral artery disease: Problems with the blood veins in your arms, legs, or abdominal organs, like them getting small or blocked.
Problems with the aorta, the big blood tube that brings blood from your heart to your brain and the rest of your body, like aneurysms or enlargement.
Some people are born with heart problems that can affect different parts of their heart. This is called congenital heart disease.
• Pericardial disease, such as pericarditis and pericardial fluid, is a problem with the walls of your heart.
• Cerebrovascular disease: Problems with the blood arteries that bring blood to the brain, like them getting small or blocked.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is when the lines that bring blood back to the heart from the brain or body get clogged.
What Causes
What makes heart disease happen?
Different types of arterial disease can have different reasons. Coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease are both caused by atherosclerosis, which is when plaque builds up in your vessels. Arrhythmias can be caused by coronary artery disease, heart muscle damage, genetic issues, or medicines you take. Age, illnesses, and rheumatoid arthritis can all lead to valve problems.
What are the things that put you at risk for heart disease?
If you have risk factors like these, you may be more likely to get heart disease:
• Hypertension, or high blood pressure.
• Hyperlipidemia, which means high cholesterol.
• Using tobacco, even vaping.
Having Type 2 diabetes.
• A history of heart problems in the family.
• The inability to move around.
• Being obese or having too much weight.
• Foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt.
• Having too much drink.
• Abusing drugs, whether they are regulated or illegal.
• Preeclampsia or too much toxemia.
• Diabetes during pregnancy.
• Long-term autoimmune or inflammatory diseases.
• Long-term kidney disease.
How to Diagnose and Test
How do you tell if someone has arterial disease?
Your doctor will do a physical check and ask you about your symptoms, health, and the health history of your family. They might also ask for tests to help find out if someone has heart disease.
Diagnosis of Differences
• Acute the pericarditis
• The angina pectoris
• High blood pressure
• Vasospasm of the coronary artery
• Heart muscle enlargement
• Arteritis of the giant cell
• High blood sugar
• High blood pressure; heart disease
• The Kawasaki syndrome
• Heart disease
What kinds of tests could I get to see if I have heart disease?
The following are some popular tests used to identify cardiovascular disease:
• Blood work checks for things like cholesterol, blood sugar levels, and certain proteins that show how healthy your heart is. A blood test can also be used to look for problems with blood clotting.
• Ankle brachial index (ABI) checks for peripheral artery disease by comparing the blood pressure in your arms and feet.
• An electrocardiogram (EKG) shows how your heart beats electrically.
• With ambulatory tracking, you wear devices that keep track of your heart rate and beat.
• An echocardiogram makes a picture of your heartbeat and blood flow by using sound waves.
• Sound waves are used in ultrasound to check the flow of blood in your neck or legs.
• Cardiac computerized tomography (CT) makes 3D pictures of your heart and blood vessels using X-rays and computers.
• Magnets and radio waves are used in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to make very clear pictures of your heart.
• An MR or CT angiogram looks at the blood veins in your legs, head, and neck with an MRI or CT scan.
• Stress tests look at how exercise or drugs affect your heart in a controlled setting to see how it reacts. EKGs and/or image tests may be used in this type of test.
• A catheter, which is a thin, empty tube, is used to check the pressure and flow of blood in your heart during cardiac catheterization.
How to Manage and Treat
How do you treat arterial disease?
Treatment plans for cardiovascular disease can be different based on your symptoms and the type of disease you have. Some ways to treat cardiovascular problems are:
• Changes in your lifestyle, such as eating differently, doing more exercise activity, and giving up smoking or tobacco products (including vaping).
• Medicines: If you have cardiovascular disease, your doctor may give you medicines to help you handle it. What kind of heart problem you have will determine the type of medicine you need.
• Procedures or surgeries: If medicines aren’t working, your doctor may use certain procedures or surgeries to treat your heart disease. Stents in the arteries of your heart or legs, minimally invasive heart surgery, open-heart surgery, ablations, or cardioversion are some examples.
• Cardiorehabilitation: To make your heart stronger, you may need a workout plan that is watched over by a doctor.
• Active surveillance: You may need to be closely watched over time even if you aren’t taking any medicine or having any treatments or surgeries.
Safety First
How can I keep heart disease from happening?
Congenital heart disease is one type of heart disease that can’t be avoided. But making changes to how you live can lower your chance of a lot of different types of heart disease.
Getting less likely to get heart disease by:
What leads to CVD
CVD has no clear cause, but there are many things that can make you more likely to get it. “Risk factors” are what we call these.
The more things that put you at risk, the more likely it is that you will get CVD.
Every 5 years, if you’re over 40, your doctor will ask you to come in for an NHS Health Check.
An important part of this check is figuring out your personal risk of CVD and giving you advice on how to lower it if needed.
A lot of blood pressure
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one of the main things that can make you more likely to get CVD. Blood valve harm can happen if your blood pressure is too high.
Find out more about high blood pressure here.
Tobacco
Another big risk factor for CVD is smoking and other tobacco use. The bad chemicals in tobacco can hurt your blood arteries and make them shrink.
Lots of fat
Cholesterol is a fat that is present in blood. You are more likely to get a blood clot if you have high cholesterol because it can narrow your blood vessels.
Find out more about having high cholesterol.
Diabetes
When you have diabetes, your blood sugar level stays too high for a long time.
Blood valves can get damaged by high blood sugar, which makes it more likely that they will get small.
A lot of people who have type 2 diabetes are also overweight or fat, which makes them more likely to get CVD.
Doing nothing
You’re more likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and be overweight if you don’t work out daily. All of these put you at risk for CVD.
Your heart will stay healthy if you work out regularly. Along with a healthy diet, exercise can help you keep your weight in a healthy range.
Being too fat or too overweight
Being overweight or fat makes you more likely to get diabetes and high blood pressure, which are both things that can lead to CVD.
You are more likely to get CVD if:
• Your body mass index (BMI) is 25 or higher. To find your BMI, use the BMI healthy weight tool.
• You are a guy with a waist of 94 cm (about 37 inches) or more, or a woman with a waist of 80 cm (about 31.5 inches) or more.
A history of CVD in the family
If someone in your family has had CVD, you are more likely to get it yourself.
If any of the following are true about you, you may have a family history of CVD:
• either your dad or your brother was told they had CVD before they turned 55
• either your mother or sister were told they had CVD before they turned 65
If someone in your family has had CVD, tell your doctor or nurse. They might tell you to check your cholesterol and blood pressure.
Race or ethnicity
CVD is more likely to happen to people from south Asia, Black Africa, or the African Caribbean in the UK.
This is because these groups of people are more likely to have other conditions that put them at risk for CVD, like high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes.
Some other risk factors
Other things that can raise or lower your chance of CVD are:
• age—people over 50 are most likely to have CVD, and your chance of getting it goes up as you age.
• Gender: Men are younger than women and more likely to get CVD.
• Diet: A bad diet can cause high blood pressure and cholesterol.
• alcohol—drinking too much alcohol can also make your blood pressure and cholesterol go up and make you gain weight.
Stopping Cardiovascular diseases
Living a healthy life can make you less likely to get CVD. Taking care of your health can keep your CVD from getting worse if you already have it.
Give up smoking
You should try to stop smoking as soon as possible. The NHS Better Health website can help you by giving you information, support, and tips.
You can also get help and information from your doctor. They can also give you medicine to help you quit.
Find out more about how to stop smoking and different ways to do it.
Eat well-balanced meals.
For a good heart, you should eat a healthy, well-balanced diet.
What makes up a healthy diet?
• low amounts of saturated fat—try to get your fat from better sources like olive oil, oily fish, nuts and seeds, and dairy products; stay away from unhealthy fats like lard, cream, cakes, and cookies.
• low amounts of salt—aim for less than 6 grams (0.2 ounces or 1 teaspoon) a day
• low amounts of sugar
• lots of whole grain and fiber-rich foods
• lots of fruits and vegetables—each day, eat at least 5 servings
Regularly work out
Adults should do 150 minutes a week of mild exercise, like riding a bike or walking quickly.
If this is hard for you, start at a level that feels good to you and slowly add more time and energy to your workouts as your fitness level rises.
If you’ve never worked out before or haven’t done it in a long time, you should see your doctor for a checkup.
Read some tips on how to start working out.
Stay at a good weight.
If you are overweight or fat, you can lose weight by working out regularly and eating well.
Your doctor or practice nurse can help you make a plan to lose weight and tell you about services in your area if you’re having trouble.
Find out more about how your doctor can help you lose weight.
Drink less booze.
People who drink alcohol should try not to go over 14 drinking units a week for men and women.
There should be at least three days between drinks if you do drink that much.
A unit of alcohol is about the same as a half-pint of regular beer or a single measure (25ml) of spirits. A 125ml small glass of wine is equal to 1.5 units.
If you’re having trouble cutting down on drinking, your doctor can help and give you advice.
Medicine
If you have high blood cholesterol and a high chance of CVD, your doctor may suggest that you take drugs called statins to lower your risk.
The outlook or prognosis
What does the future hold for people who have heart disease?
A lot of people have a good quality of life and can handle their heart disease with the help of their healthcare team. You have a better chance of getting better if you take part in your care and follow your provider’s treatment plan. It is important to take medicines exactly as your doctor tells you to.
Does having heart disease make me more likely to get other health problems?
Heart disease that isn’t addressed can get worse and cause major problems.
People who already have heart disease may be more likely to:
• Heart attack.
• Stroke.
• Acute limb ischemia, which means that your leg arteries suddenly get blocked.
• Cut in the aorta.
• Death from a heart attack.
Getting Along With
When do I need to see my doctor or nurse?
Most of the time, cardiovascular disease is easier to treat when it is found early. That’s why you should see your basic care doctor once a year. They can find problems with the heart before the signs show up. You should see your doctor right away if you have any signs of cardiovascular disease.
• Pain, pressure, stiffness, or discomfort in the chest, especially when you work out.
This is called fainting.
• Severe shortness of breath, especially if it’s new or getting worse.
• Arms or legs that hurt or feel numb.
• Back pain that tears or rips.
A message from the reprospot on cardiovascular diseases
illnesses of the heart and blood systems are called cardiovascular illnesses. Too little or too much care for heart problems can cause heart attacks or strokes. To control cardiovascular disease, you can either change the way you live or take medicine. Getting a diagnosis earlier can help treatment work better. With heart disease, a lot of people live full and busy lives.