Heart Disease Health Center
Overview
Heart disease includes conditions affecting the heart, such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, congestive heart failure, and congenital heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S. Keys to prevention include quitting smoking, lowering cholesterol, controlling high blood pressure, maintaining a healthy weight, and exercising.
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http://www.google.com.ph/imgres?imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCbTl3IpHf6OzEL8pBBXbWCGrKqRwknGXpxvEVL5UKi93pr1xZ5QXxHZvDuKEFnLaQCW_uRu0uQ8o-dsZ2kuUivx8p7aAMpOSwDVWIMQID6HcxPctI4bezjIfjjX31jk7ljFvMMJFk5Q/s1600/HeartExterior01_jpg770a3d1b-3197-45b3-8244-b94112b39522Large.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jessicaschoolblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/anatomy-of-human-heart.html&usg=__9wuAwpGa3r7AS3gsRffCVQVCXkE=&h=400&w=400&sz=23&hl=en&start=17&sig2=Tqw507m_X-clypgP2t0kIg&zoom=1&tbnid=uH1TcSHNkJZbVM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=124&ei=6-upUdrZMam3iQfH84CYAQ&itbs=1&sa=X&ved=0CEsQrQMwEASymptoms & Types
There are many types of heart disease. Here's where to get quick facts on each one -- including warning signs and symptoms.
Symptoms
Here's a fast, easy-to-understand guide to the symptoms of each type of heart disease.
Warning Signs
If you or a loved one has heart disease, when must you call the doctor? When should you head for the emergency room? Click here for clear, fast information.
Doctors call it angina pectoris. You call it chest pain. It may feel like indigestion -- or like an elephant just stepped on your chest. Here's what it means.
Types
Coronary artery disease is America's No.1 killer, affecting more than 13 million Americans.
An enlarged heart (cardiomegaly) can have various causes. But it's usually caused by high blood pressure (hypertension) or coronary artery disease.
You know there's nothing funny about a heart attack. There's a lot more to learn. Here's what you need to know: no more, no less.
Irregular heart rhythm -- arrhythmia -- is when your heart doesn't keep up a good beat. Learn what it means here.
It's the most common kind of irregular heart beat. Here's where to find out what it is, and what to do about it.
Irregular heart rhythms can cause the pumping function of the heart to fail. See how.
You may not know what a heart valve is -- until it stops working right. It's a common form of heart disease. Here's an illustrated guide.
This is the cause of half of all heart disease deaths. Find out why here.
Not everyone gets heart disease. Some are born with it. Here are the facts on congenital heart disease.
Learn the causes, symptoms, and treatment of an enlarged heart.
Heart muscle disease -- what doctors call cardiomyopathy -- is as serious as it sounds. Here's a brief overview.
Symptoms of DC --dilated cardiomyopathy -- can appear at any age. Learn to recognize them here.
HCM -- hypertrophic cardiomyopathy -- is a thickening of the walls of the heart. Here's a brief overview.
Restrictive cardiomyopathy is the rarest form of heart-muscle disease. Here's an overview.
Did you know that your heart is held by a little sac? That sac -- the pericardium -- can get infected. It's called pericarditis or pericardial disease. Here's more.
Fluid around the heart can be caused by various types of infection/inflammation or cancer, kidney disease or heart surgery. This fluid can impair heart function. Read more in this technical article written for doctors.
This inherited genetic defect weakens connective tissues -- including those in the heart. Click here to learn more.
Most heart murmurs are innocent: They are caused by blood flowing through healthy valves in a healthy heart and do not require treatment. However, heart murmurs can be caused by blood flowing through a damaged or overworked heart valve.
Diagnosis & Tests
Exactly when do you go from having risk factors to having heart disease? These links take you to information on the tests a doctor uses to diagnose heart disease.
Diagnosis
The first step is getting a doctor's exam. Here's a description of what the doctor will do.
Tests
Whether you spell it EKG or ECG, it's an electrocardiogram. Learn the basics here.
Why get a chest X-ray? What happens? Click here for quick answers.
Does your heart respond well to exertion? That's what a stress test looks for. Here's a straightforward description, including how to prepare for a stress test.
The head-up tilt table test is used to help find the cause of fainting spells. Here's what you need to know.
There are several variations on the echocardiogram, or "echo," as doctors call it. Learn about these ultrasound-like tests of the heart -- and find out what to expect -- here.
Cardiac catheterization -- also called a coronary angiogram -- means running a catheter into your heart. It's done to help doctors see what's going on in there, and whether they need to operate. Here's where to learn about it.
Electrophysiology -- the EP test -- takes measurements of your heart rhythm -- recording the electrical activity and pathways of your heart. Start preparing for it by clicking here.
Computed tomography (CT scan) of the heart can visualize your heart’s anatomy. Calcium-score heart scan and coronary CT angiography are just a few types used to diagnose heart disease.
A myocardial biopsy is when a doctor uses a special catheter to remove a piece of your heart tissue for examination. Click here to learn why it's done.
A heart MRI is a great way for doctors to get a look -- from the outside -- at how your heart is working. Read about it here.
Pericardiocentesis -- also called a pericardial tap -- means using a needle to get a sample of the fluid in the sac surrounding the heart. Here's what you need to know.
Treatment & Care
Treatments for heart disease range from low-tech to high-tech. Read about them here. You'll also find advice for caregivers -- including tips for caregiver care.
Treatment
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation -- CPR -- is one link in what the American Heart Association calls the "chain of survival." Learn CPR for a loved one.
Medical care is essential once heart disease is diagnosed, with the goals of stabilizing the condition immediately, controlling symptoms over the long term, and providing a cure when possible.
Surgeries
Get information about heart stents, why they’re used, and what types are available.
Angioplasty is a non-surgical procedure that can be used to open blocked heart arteries. Stent placement is another option that can be done during angioplasty.
Heart bypass surgery can be used to treat heart disease when your coronary arteries are blocked. Your doctor may treat the problem by giving the blood a new pathway to the heart.
When treatment for heart valve disease includes surgery, it can be performed by traditional surgery or minimally invasive balloon valvuloplasty.
For many people with heart disease, drugs alone will not convert an arrhythmia to a normal heart rhythm. For these people, a procedure called cardioversion or electrical cardioversion may be necessary.
EECP can help stimulate blood vessels to develop small branches, creating a natural bypass around narrowed or blocked arteries that cause the chest pain.
Ablation is used to treat abnormal heart rhythms, or arrhythmias. The type of arrhythmia and the presence of other heart disease will determine whether ablation can be performed surgically or non-surgically.
A pacemaker is a small device that sends electrical impulses to the heart muscle to maintain a suitable heart rate and rhythm. A pacemaker may also be used to treat fainting spells (syncope), congestive heart failure, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Treatment for abnormal heart rhythms is possible with an ICD, or implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
A lead extraction is the removal of one or more leads from inside the heart. Leads that are placed outside the heart during open heart surgery cannot be removed during this type of procedure.
The left ventricular assist device, LVAD or VAD, is a kind of mechanical heart. It's placed inside a person's chest, where it helps the heart pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
A heart transplant is the replacement of a person's diseased heart with a healthy donor's heart. The donor is a person who has died and whose family has agreed to donate their loved one's organs.
Medications
Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are heart medications that widen or dilate your blood vessels to improve the amount of blood your heart pumps and lower blood pressure.
These heart drugs decrease certain chemicals that narrow the blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more easily through your body. They also decrease certain chemicals that cause salt and fluid build-up in the body.
Antiarrhythmia drugs are used to treat abnormal heart rhythms resulting from irregular electrical activity of the heart.
Antiplatelet drugs are used to treat heart disease. They are a group of powerful medications that prevent the formation of blood clots.
For more than 100 years, aspirin has been used as a pain reliever. Since the 1970s, aspirin has also been used to prevent and manage heart disease and stroke.
Beta-blockers are one of the most widely prescribed class of drugs to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) and are a mainstay treatment of congestive heart failure.
Calcium channel blockers are heart disease drugs that relax blood vessels and increase the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart while also reducing the heart's workload.
Clot buster drugs, or thrombolytic therapy, are a type of heart medication given in the hospital through the veins (intravenous) to break up blood clots.
If you have heart disease, Digoxin is a medication that helps an injured or weakened heart work more efficiently to send blood through the body.
iuretics, commonly known as "water pills," help your body get rid of unneeded water and salt through the urine. Getting rid of excess fluid makes it easier for your heart to pump and controls blood pressure.
Nitrates are vasodilators that are used to treat angina in people with coronary artery disease or chest pain caused by blocked blood vessels of the heart.
Warfarin, which goes by the brand name Coumadin, is an anticoagulant medication. This means that it helps prevent clots from forming in the blood. Blood thinners are used to treat some types of heart disease.
Care
Is a plant-based diet good for your heart? More research needs to be done, but early studies suggest it may have a number of benefits.
After you or someone you love returns home after heart surgery, these are some of the things you should know.
Caregivers should be mindful of the psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual aspects of health and illness, as well as the effects of these factors on themselves and their loved ones.
Living & Managing
Living with heart disease isn't simple. But it's something millions of people manage to do. Here are tips for taking control of your life.
Living and Coping
There's no cure for heart disease. But that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do. A click here will get you started.
It's very likely your doctor will encourage you to get involved in a cardiac rehab program. Click here to see what it's all about.
Got heart disease? Nothing is more important than eating heart-friendly foods. Click here to see what heart-healthy cooking is all about.
What exercises are best for those diagnosed with heart disease? Read more.
Here are steps you can take after a heart attack to ensure a full recovery.
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