What are the Different Types of Heart Diseases?

A term which envelopes all the issues, disorders and deformities in the heart is a Heart Disease. These include problems with the structure and functions of the heart. In contrast with cardiovascular diseases which describe problems with the blood vessels and circulatory system as well as the heart, heart disease refers to issues and deformities in the heart itself.

Types of Heart Diseases:

Arrhytmia: This condition is characterized by an irregular heartbeat. It includes tachycardia (very fast heartbeats) and bradycardia (very slow heartbeats). This is caused due to electrolyte imbalance, improper electrical impulses in the heart, variations in the heart muscle or after-effects of heart surgery or disease. Premature ventricular contractions, or skipped heartbeat, are the most common arrhythmias.

Coronary Artery Disease: This is an umbrella term which describes various deformities present in the heart since birth. These include obstruction of blood flow through the heart’s chambers, septal defect (hole between the two chambers of the heart). Although there are no known causes, some risk factors which make the occurrence of this condition likely include genetic defects such as Down Syndrome, alcoholism, drug abuse or other heart infections during pregnancy.

Cardiomyopathy: In this, the heart muscle is damaged to an extent that the heart becomes incapable of pumping blood to all the parts of the body. In Dilated cardiomyopathy the heart muscle becomes weak and the heart chambers become dilated and usually affect the left ventricle. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the wall of the left ventricle thickens, making it hard to pump blood out of the heart.

Pericardial Disease: This affects the sac that surrounds the heart, usually due to a viral infection, or inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Myocardial Infarction: Also known in common parlance as heart attack, this condition describes a partly damaged heart mucle due to an interrupted blood flow. This is usually caused due to a clot in any of the arteries.

Heart Valve Disease: There are four valves located one in each chamber of rhe heart responsible for maintaining forward flow of the blood. There are many types of valve diseases, such as valvular stenosis(heart valve doesn’t open fully leading to heart failure symptoms), valvular insufficiency(a valve doesn’t close tightly) etc.

Heart failure: Also called congestive heart failure occurs when the heart does not pump blood around the body efficiently. The left or right side of the heart is likely to get affected. Rarely, both sides are. Coronary artery disease or high blood pressure can, over time, leave the heart too stiff or weak to fill and pump properly.

Symptoms of Heart Diseases:

• Chest discomfort (Angina), such as pain, tightness and pressure
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea
• Heartburn
• Indigestion and/or stomach pain
• Pain in the left side of the body, jaws, upper neck and throat
• Swelling and/or numbness in the limbs
• Dizziness and fainting
• Changes in the heart rhythm

Causes/Risks of Heart Diseases:

A number of lifestyle choices can lead to one having heart diseases. Causes of Heart Diseases include:

• High Blood Pressure
• Heart Conditions
• Diabetes
• High Cholesterol
• Smoking
• Alcohol consumption
• Stress
• Family History
• Age

Treatment:

Treatment for heart disease broadly depends on the type of heart disease one has and how far it has advanced. For instance, if one have a heart infection, their doctor is likely to prescribe an antibiotic. If one has plaque buildup, they may take a two-pronged approach: prescribe a medication that can help lower your risk for additional plaque buildup and look to help you adopt healthy lifestyle changes.

Basically treatment for heart diseases can fall into three categories. Initially, heart conditions are attempted to be cured by using medications. If medicines do not give the desired results then a surgery is carried out. Lifestyle changes also contribute in preventing heart diseases.

Know your blood pressure. Keeping a check on the blood pressure is important as high blood pressure can causes heart conditions. To be sure about your health from every now and then it is important to book a blood test on a timely basis. Make sure to find a lab for yourself, look out for health packages and download reports from time to time.