Cardiovascular disease – be aware of disease and types
The heart may be the size of your fist, but it is the strongest muscle in our body. With every heartbeat, the heart pumps blood, carrying oxygen and nutrients to every single part of the body. The occurrence of a heart attack could be due to numerous facts that cannot be deciphered. Dr. Jyotirmaya Dash, Senior Consultant – Interventional Cardiologist, Fortis Hospital Vadapalani, gives a detailed explanation to the very many conditions that are prevailing with heart attack. Cardiovascular disease is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels. It usually develops with a build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries. This increases the risk of blood clots in the heart-centered regions causing more pressure thereby resulting in heart attack.
The probability of cardiovascular disease will be increased because of smoking habit, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise and obesity. Four types of cardiovascular disease occur to those having the above habits. They are:
Coronary heart disease
This condition occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is reduced or blocked. This particular ailment may increase the strain on the heart leading to cause angina – chest pain caused by restricted blood flow to the heart muscle; heart attacks – when the blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked; heart failure – when the heart is unable to pump blood around the body.
Strokes
Strokes occur when the blood supply to brain is cut off which often results in brain damage and end up in death of a person. Another similar condition is a ‘mini-stroke or TIA (Transient ischaemic attack)’, when the blood flow to the brain is temporarily disrupted. Usually the face, arms or speech are the first few to be affected. It can get difficult to smile or one side of the face may have dropped off; with arms, the affected finds it difficult to raise his / her arms causing numbness or weakness; speech often is stumbled or goes garbled.
Peripheral arterial disease
This disease occurs when there is a blockage in the arteries to the limbs, usually the legs. This can lead to a dull or cramping leg, hair loss on the legs and feet, ulcers on the feet and leg.
Aortic disease
Aortic diseases are a group of conditions affecting aorta. This is the largest blood vessel of the body carrying blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
Risk factors for CVD
Hypertension – when the blood pressure is too high it will damage the blood vessels
Smoking – Smoking and consumption of tobacco damage the blood vessels
High cholesterol – high fatty substance found in the blood may result in risk of developing a blood clot.
Diabetes – this lifelong condition may cause the sugar levels in the blood going high resulting in damaging blood vessels.
Inactivity – staying idle without much movement could result in high cholesterol or diabetes. Here again increases the damage of the blood vessels causing more strain to the heart.
Obesity – being overweight may result in diabetes and blood pressure; both these conditions are not the way to a healthy heart.
Sometimes even family history, ethnic background, sex, and age can also affect a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease.
Diagnosis of CVD
The doctor will examine patients’ complete medical and family history, access risk factors and conduct a physical examination. When necessary, they will combine their findings with results from tests and procedures. Usually CVD symptoms remain the same with mild to severe discomfort in the chest causing pain from shoulders to the rest of the body.
Cardiovascular diseases are diagnosed using a range of laboratory tests and imaging studies. Some of the common tests used to diagnose cardiovascular diseases include:
- Blood test
- Stress test or Treadmill Test
- Chest x-ray
- Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)
- Echocardiogram (Echo)
- Holter Monitoring
- Computerized tomography (CT) scan
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
- Electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT)
- Cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography
Treatment for CVD
- Lifestyle changes such as dietary modifications, including / increasing exercise, reduction/abstinence from alcohol and tobacco use
- Medication, including ones that treat risk factors like blood pressure, control cholesterol or to dissolve blood clots
- Devices such as pacemakers or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs)
- Medical procedures including stents, heart valve repair or replacement surgery, coronary bypass surgery
Prevention of CVD
Most CVD caused deaths are premature and could easily be prevented by making lifestyle changes like following a healthy diet chart, incorporating an exercise routine, and by quitting smoking. If you are already living with CVD, staying healthy and active can help you live longer and reduce the chances of it getting worse.
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