Cardiovascular Diseases

What is Cardiovascular Diseases?

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) encompass any medical conditions related to the heart and blood vessels. Majority of CVD conditions are caused by plaque build up in the walls of the arteries. This condition is referred to as atherosclerosis. Plaque is made up of various substances that are present within the blood. These include cholesterol, fat, cellular waste, calcium and fibrin. Fibrin is a substance that is connected to the formation of blood clots. When plaque is built up on the walls of the arteries, it reduces the blood flow to and from the heart. This condition or a complete blockage of the artery due to a ruptured plaque wall can result in heart attack or stroke, and even death.

What causes Heart Disease?

The most common cause of cardiovascular diseases is cholesterol. There are two types of cholesterol. These are Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) and High Density Lipoproteins (HDL). Too much of LDL and too little HDL can cause CVD. Having low levels of HDL too puts you at risk of having a heart attack as HDL helps to remove LDL from plaque and send it back to the liver.

High blood pressure is another reason for heart attacks or strokes. High blood pressure place increased strain on the heart organ as an increased volume of blood is pumped through the heart. High blood pressure can also cause the arteries to rapture, especially if they are hardened with plaque build-up. This will, as a result cause a stroke or a heart attack.

Smoking is also a contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Smoking increases risk of atherosclerosis not only in the arteries leading to the heart, but also to the legs and the aorta.

What are the Types of Heart Diseases?

Cardiovascular diseases can be categorized into four types. These are heart failure, arrhythmia, heart valve disease and stroke:

• Heart failure is a kind of heart diseases that occurs when inadequate supply of blood is pumped into the heart or to the rest of the body. This causes the heart to work double time. Over a number of years, the heart will slow down due to overwork. Treatment includes ensuring better health by eating the proper foods and exercising.
• Arrhythmia is a medical condition where the heart does not beat normally. It can either be too slow or too fast. This too will affect how the heart pumps blood in and out. Irregular heart movements also lend to formation of blood clots. Treatment for arrhythmia includes lifestyle changes and undergoing medical surgery.
• Heart valve disease is when one or more of the heart’s valves do not function as it should be. The four major heart valves have tissue flaps that open and close with every heartbeat. These flaps ensure that the right amount of blood supply is sent to different parts of the body. When this does not happen, blood will leak back into the heart chambers. This will cause blood clots and stroke.
• A heart attack occurs when the blood flow to a section of heart muscle gets blocked for a long enough time. If the blood flow isn't restored quickly, the part of the heart muscle starts to die.

Facts about Heart Diseases

There are several facts about heart disease that you should be aware of. Being aware of it will help you be more careful with how you live your life and look after your health. Below are a few heart disease facts(Based On the NHLBI's Framingham Heart Study, or FHS):

• CVD is one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
• The most common cause of heart disease is Coronary Artery Disease(Also called Coronary Heart Disease, or CHD).
• A person with a family history of heart disease is ten times more likely to have any cardio vascular disease.
• Smoking, fast food, inadequate exercise all contribute to heart disease.
• Dinner with high fat and high carbohydrates will increase the risk of blood clotting.
• Brain death from cardiac arrest can be experienced in just four minutes.
• Depression is also a common contributor to heart diseases.

The above mentioned is not a full list of heart disease facts. There are many more to be aware of.

Tips for Preventing Cardiovascular Diseases

Here are some heart disease prevention tips help you preventing from Cardiovascular Diseases:

• Tips No.1: Don't Smoke:
  If you do smoke now, quit and change this habit. If you don't smoke, never start. I mean it's struggling for some people, but the fact is: In the first year of quitting smoking, the risk of heart attacks can drop by 50 percent. Within 5 years, The risk of stroke is eliminated of quitting this bad habit. After 10 years persistance, the ex-smokers will have the same heart attack risk as those who never smoked.
• Tips No.2: Having Healthy Diet:
  Heart friendly Diet means eating foods that are low in fat, cholesterol and salt. This is integral to maintaining a healthy heart and circulatory system, thus do great to avoiding cardiovascular diseases.
• Tips No.3: Exercise Regularly:
  Exercises helps a lot to make us feel better. It can relives our stresses, burn extra fat, lowering blood pressure and strenthens our immune systems. We all know the athelets have lower heart rate than normal people. This is because their cardiac muscle is better than normal people.
• Tips No.4: Avoid Excessive Stress:
  Don't push yourself too hard. Stress will definitely raise your blood pressure and adding burderns to your heart. Try to look things from bring side, for there's no big deal other than our healthy body. .

As a healthy heart is at the centre of our lives, we need to ensure we do take proper care of it. Heart disease is not something that should be taken lightly. It can be fatal. If you have concerns about your heart health conditions, you should going for some routine checkups.