What is heart disease?
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. More than 600,000 Americans die of heart disease each year. That’s one in every four deaths in this country.1
The term “heart disease” refers to several types of heart conditions. The most common type is coronary artery disease, which can cause heart attack. Other kinds of heart disease may involve the valves in the heart, or the heart may not pump well and cause heart failure. Some people are born with heart disease.
Are you at risk?
Anyone, including children, can develop heart disease. It occurs when a substance called plaque builds up in your arteries. When this happens, your arteries can narrow over time, reducing blood flow to the heart.
Smoking, eating an unhealthy diet, and not getting enough exercise all increase your risk for having heart disease. Having high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes also can increase your risk for heart disease. Ask your
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For many people, chest discomfort or a heart attack is the first sign.
Someone having a heart attack may experience several symptoms, including:
Chest pain or discomfort that doesn’t go away after a few minutes.
Pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back.
Weakness, light-headedness, nausea (feeling sick to your stomach), or a cold sweat.
Pain or discomfort in the arms or shoulder.
Shortness of breath.
If you think that you or someone you know is having a heart attack, call 9-1-1 immediately.
How is heart disease diagnosed?
Your doctor can perform several tests to diagnose heart disease, including chest X-rays, coronary angiograms, electrocardiograms (ECG or EKG), and exercise stress tests. Ask your doctor about what tests may be right for you.
Can it be prevented?
You can take several steps to reduce your risk for heart disease:
Prevent or treat your other health conditions, especially high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and
Cardiomyopathy, by definition, means the weakening of the heart muscle. The heart is operated by a striated muscle that relies on the autonomic nervous system to function. Cardiomyopathy is diagnosed in four different ways based on what caused the illness and exactly what part of the heart is weakened. The four main types of cardiomyopathy are dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, restrictive cardiomyopathy, and arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. One other category of cardiomyopathy that is diagnosed is “unclassified cardiomyopathy.” Unclassified cardiomyopathy is the weakening of the heart that does not fit into the main four categories.
LDL or bad cholesterol comes from food that is a high source of cholesterol and/or saturated fats. Plaque forms when bad or LDL cholesterol builds up in your bloodstream and attaches to the arterial wall, as more LDL builds up the plaque becomes larger, this can become a major problem for your cardiovascular system. Because plaque is a substance that has rough edges, it reduces the elastic nature of the artery which means your heart will have to work double-time to pump the necessary blood to all your limbs, that will mean your limbs won’t get the amount of oxygen that they require to function properly. Plaque can also narrow the area blood has to pass through, this means your heart has to work overtime and overall capacity of your cardiovascular system is lowered. When the LDL cholesterol embeds itself in the wall of the artery it than damages the artery then blood pressure expands it which causes an aneurysm. When an aneurysm is too weak there is a high possibility of it bursting, when that happens it leaves the cells in and around that area without oxygen. If that artery is connected to a major vital organ the person will most likely die. When the blood flow is slowed it shows a greater risk for blood clots and although blood clots are natural and important to healing broken blood vessels, if blood clots gather inside the blood vessel this proves to be a serious health risk. The clots have the possibility to get stuck and completely cut off the blood flow to cells, leaving them without oxygen and causing them to die. If a clot gets inside a blood vessel connected to a major organ this could cause the person to die. The heart is fed by the coronary artery, if plaque or a blood clot blocks off blood flow to the heart, the heart ...
In comparison, the leading cause of death from heart disease (covering all heart problems combined) causes 1 out of every 4 Americans deaths, or 25% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).
Signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, edema, rapid or irregular heartbeat, weakness, and elevated blood pressure. These signs and symptoms appear slowly in the disease, such as when a person is active, but overtime they will become present when that person is at rest (Couzens, 2014). People at risk for heart failure include those who have sleep apnea, have had a heart attack, have high blood pressure, have diabetes, are overweight, and those abuse alcohol use. There are many other risk factors also; these are just to name few.
Having aching muscles in the back, arms and legs. A person may experience chills and sweats, headaches, and a dry persistent cough. Along with having fatigue and a sore throat.
Hyperlipidemia or increased cholesterol builds up causing narrowing in the arteries, which reduces oxygen rich blood flow to the heart and tissues, also increasing the risk for myocardial infarction. Obesity increases the risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, and hyperlipidemia, increasing the risk of atherosclerosis, and therefore increasing
Coronary heart disease or coronary artery disease affects 16.8 million people in the United States and causes more than 607,000 deaths annually (Lemone, chap.30). It is caused by atherosclerosis which is the accumulation of fatty deposits in the arteries causing impaired blood flow to the myocardium. CAD or coronary artery syndrome is usually without symptoms but may induce heart attack, angina and acute coronary syndrome if not properly treated. There are many risk factors associated with CAD like obesity, high cholesterol diet, hereditary, physical inactivity, just to name a few. Patients with CAD may be unable to identify and manage their risks factors. It is imperative for nurses to educate the patient about CAD and measures to enhance their health.
Just as breast cancer is killing our African American women, heart disease is also one of the major diseases killing our women. Heart disease is one of the nation’s leading causes of death in both woman and men. About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States (Americas heart disease burden, 2013). Some facts about heart disease are every year about 935,000 Americans have a heart attack. Of these, 610,000 are a first heart attack victim. 325,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack. Also coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and loss of productivity. Deaths of heart disease in the United States back in 2008 killed about 24.5% of African Americans.
What signs and symptoms to look for in CHD? The most common type of symptom is angina. What is angina? According to heart.org, angina is chest pain or discomfort caused when y...
Often times there are no symptoms of the underlying disease of the blood vessels. More times than not, a heart attack or stroke is the first warning or sign of the underlying disease. Since signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease are not always apparent, it is important to know the symptoms of a heart attack so medical attention can be sought out immediately. According to...
(Slide 2) What is Cardiomyopathy? If we break down the word we can see “Cardio” which means of the heart, “myo” which means muscle, and “pathy” which means disease, therefore cardiomyopathies are diseases of the heart muscle. (Slide 3) There are 3 main types of cardiomyopathies; hypertrophic, dilated, and restrictive. I will only be discussing dilated cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by the enlargement of the hearts chambers with impaired systolic function. It is estimated that as many as 1 of 500 adults may have this condition. Dilated cardiomyopathy is more common in blacks than in whites and in males than in females. It is the most common form of cardiomyopathy in children and it can occur at any age (CDC).
Oxygen was first admitted to the client with chest pain over 100 years ago (Metcalfe, 2011). Chest pain is a large bracket that can contain many different conditions, but for the purpose of this analysis it is focused manly upon a myocardial infarction. A myocardial infarction is mainly referred to as a heart attack, and occurs when one or more coronary arteries leading to the heart reduce or completely stop blood flow (Tuipulotu, 2013 ). Administering high concentrations of oxygen to patients with chest pain is now embedded in guidelines, protocols and care pathways, even with a lack of clear supporting evidence (Nicholson, 2004 ). High concentration of oxygen means that up to 60% is administered (Knott, 2012). More recent research has suggested that the use of oxygen in this scenario is unnecessary and can lead to unwanted side effects, especially in normoxic cardiac patients (Moradkham & Sinoway, 2010 ). The aim of this comparative analysis is to dismantle and understand both the benefits and risks of the commonly known practice of administration of oxygen to the client with chest pain. Through completing this analysis using recent and appropriate evidence a more improved practice can be given and understood.
Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect your heart. Diseases under the heart disease umbrella include blood vessel diseases, heart rhythm problems, and heart defects. The major cause of this is a build-up of fatty plaques in the arteries. Plaque build-up thickens and stiffens the vessel walls, which can inhibit blood flow through the arteries to organs and tissues.
The tendency to build up high cholesterol may run in families, but extremely high levels are usually the result of a poor diet high in saturated fats and calories, along with little or no exercise. In some cases, high levels of cholesterol may be associated with undiagnosed medical symptoms such as diabetes or low thyroid function. According to the American Heart Association, there would eventually be a 50 percent lower rate of heart disease if Americans would lower their blood cholesterol levels by 25 percent. These statements find confirmation in a 1984 report done by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institution on the results of a 10 year study. It showed that for every 1 percent of lowered cholesterol, the chances of a heart attack are lowered by 2 percent.
Heart disease can refer to an assortment of diseases affecting the heart. A heart attack happens when a heart muscle is destroyed or hurt due to not getting enough oxygenated blood to maintain life. Different examples of Heart Disease include Cardiomyopathy, Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, and Ischemic Heart Disease. Pediatric Heart Information for Patients, Families, Medical Professionals – Information on different. heart conditions and diseases in children.