Review About Heart Diseases
The heart of human is the reliable pump tht propels over 6000 liters of blood through the body daily and beats more than 40 million times a year during individual‘s lifetime. But its function can be devastated due to abnormal physiological consequences. Heart diseases are the predominent cause of death and disability in the industrialized nation.
The major categories of heart diseaes which account for nearly all cardiac mortality are
1. Congenital Heart Diseases
2. Ishchemic heart diseases
3. Hypertensive heart diseases
4. Valvular heart diseases
5. Myocardial diseases of nonischemic nature.
The main principal mechanism contributing in cardiovascular dysfunction are that heart fails to pump, an obstruction to flow,regurgitant flow, problems in heart conduction and disruption of continuity of circulatory system.
Most heart diseases arise from interaction of environmental factor and genetic susceptibiltiy.
1. Congenital Heart Diseases:
These arise when fetus is in the uterus due to faulty embryogenesis. These can make the child’s life worse. Some of them can be corrected by surgery while other cannot be e.g. if the heart size is enlarged since birth,it cannot be corrected.
2. Ischemic Heart Diseases:
They are generic designation for a group of closely related diseases. These results from an imbalance between the supply and demand of the heart for oxygenated blood. Ischemia also results in reduced delivery of nutrient substances. The diseases include
-Myocardial Infarction
-Angina Pectoris
-Chronic Ischemic heart disease
-Sudden heart death.
Myocardial Infarction: Also known as “heart attact” is the most common disease and leads to death of heart muscles resulting from poor blood supply to its muscles. Antherosclerosis is the major underlying cause. It is the thicking of blood vessel walls due to lipid accumulation. The frequency of heart attact progress with old age when tendency to antherosclerosis is present such as hypertention, Diabetes Mellitus, cigratte smoking etc
Except for some predisposing antherogenic conditions, women are remarkably protected against heart attack during the reproductive age e.g. 12-45 years of age.
Angina Pectoris: It is the pain in the chest on exertion and on rest due to poor blood supply to heart.
Chronic Ischemic heart Diseases: Here patient develops progressive heart failure.
Sudden Cardiac death: Few probable nonischemic causes are
• Congenital arterial abnormalities
• Aortic valve narrowing
• Mitral vavle prolapse
• Hypertrophy of heart
• Infections of heart muscles
3. Hypertensive Heart Disease:
Hypertention means increase blood pressure. It is a response of heart to increase demands induced by systemic hypertention.
4. Valvular Heart Disease:
It results either from valves narrowing, incompetency or failure to close, thereby allowing reverse flow of blood.
5. Nonischemic Myocardial Diseases:
They results from infections of bacteria, viruses, fungi etc.
HEART FAILURE: It is the end point of all these conditions described above! Heart fails to pump blood at a rate commensurate with the body requirements.