Heart diseases or cardiovascular diseases refer to a wide range of conditions affecting the heart including arrhythmia, atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease (CAD), heart infections, etc.
As well as the above medicines, there may be the other ways to treat heart diseases such as angioplasty, different kinds of surgeries, heart transplant, or even lifestyle changes, etc.
Then at least one of the coronary arteries, supplying blood to the heart, is suddenly and completely blocked usually by a blood clot, the heart attack occurs. It is considered one of the most common types of heart disease that may seriously damage the heart muscle and as a result, it can be fatal.
It is highly important to pay attention to the symptoms of heart diseases and it should not be overlooked. If the treatment delays, it can lead to further damages to the heart tissue.
The coronary arteries are responsible for supplying the needed blood, oxygen and nutrients for heart. Actually, coronary artery disease (CAD) develops when the coronary arteries got damaged, narrowed or blocked due to being filled up with cholesterol or atherosclerosis.
Moreover, shortness of breath and heart attack are considered the other signs of the problem.
Arrhythmia or irregular heartbeats is the problem about the heart-rhythm. It occurs when the electrical impulses controlling the heartbeat do not act properly which causes the heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly. Actually, arrhythmia can be felt when the heartbeat changes.
Congenital Heart Defect is a structural problem in the heart that occurs during pregnancy and the baby is born with and affects the baby’s heart functions.
Septal defects refer to a hole in the heart. Imagine the heart is like a house including 4 rooms, the two upper rooms are called atrial and ventricular is the name given to the other two lower ones. Both parts are divided by a wall named as “atrial wall or atrial septum” and “ventricular wall or ventricular septum”, respectively. Ventricular septal defect and atrial septal defect are considered the most common congenital heart defects. We discuss them as following.
The right side of the heart is responsible for pumping oxygen-poor blood from heart to the lungs, and the left side pumps oxygen-rich blood to the body. In ventricular septal defect, also known as VSD, there is a hole in the ventricular wall making the blood flows from the left side to the right. So the oxygen-rich blood goes back to the lungs and the heart encounters a problem.
Atrial septal defect or ASD is caused by the hole in the Atrial septum. The oxygen-rich blood, with the red color go to the left atrium from the lungs to pass into the left ventricle and then pumps through the body in the normal cycle. However, the atrial septal defect causes the oxygen-rich blood mixes with the oxygen-poor blood which is blue and coming from the body to the heart in the right atrium. The atrial septal defect is observed in a small percentage in comparison with ventricular septal defect. Girls suffers from atrial septal defects twice more than boys.
In the obstructive heart defects (OHDs), the heart valves, arteries, or veins are abnormally narrowed or blocked. OHDs includes different subtypes such as:
Coarctation of the Aorta (CoA): it is about the obstruction or narrowness of the aorta that makes the blood not able to flow through the body and the high blood pressure will happen.
Aortic Stenosis (AS): when Aortic stenosis occurs, the left ventricle and the aorta cannot connect to each other because the aortic valve is narrowed. So, the heart will encounter the problem of pumping the blood.
Bicuspid Aortic Valve: it describes a disease that the aortic valve consists of only two flaps instead of three. The blood will go through the body more difficult than before if the valve gets narrowed.
Subaortic Stenosis: the problem is related to the narrowing of the left ventricle located under the aortic valve. The blood goes through it to reach the aorta in normal condition. The blood flow will be limited in the subaortic stenosis and the left ventricle will encounter an increased workload.
Cyanotic defects refer to the problem that the amount of oxygen of the blood is less than the normal condition and the heart does not pump the enough oxygen through the body that affects the color of skin, mostly it will be in the blue color and the infants were born with these defects are called “blue babies”. The most important types of cyanotic defects include Tricuspid atresia, Transposition of the great arteries (TGA), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), etc.
In the angina pectoris, the patient experiences a chest pain or discomfort temporarily. It occurs if the heart does not receive enough oxygen which is mostly due to the narrowed heart arteries. Angina pectoris includes two types: the stable angina and unstable one. The stable angina which is the most common type happens through the physical activity. It mostly takes a short time about some minutes if the activity is stopped. The unstable angina usually occurs through the rest time. It usually lasts longer with the symptoms that can be more severe and it is considered the less common type.