Heart conditions affect children, adolescents, young adults and seniors. Congenital heart defects may show up at birth, or they may manifest later in life. Heart disease is any condition that affects the normal function of the heart's rhythm and its ability to pump oxygen-rich blood to the entire body. Types of heart conditions include heart failure, valve disease and coronary artery disease.
Mitral Regurgitation
The mitral valve, located between the two left chambers of your heart, allows blood to flow through the heart during each heartbeat. If the mitral valve does not close tightly, blood flows backward and causes regurgitation. There are two types of mitral regurgitation---acute and chronic. Acute mitral regurgitation is the sudden onset of a leaking mitral valve, such as following a heart attack or an infection of the valve. Surgery to repair the leaking valve may be required. Chronic mitral regurgitation, a long-term condition, is progressive, and treatment consists of medication to control the symptoms. As reported by the National Institutes of Health, valve replacement may be required in severe cases.
Heart Failure
The three types of heart failure are congestive, left-sided and right-sided failure. Heart failure happens when the heart is unable to meet the demands of the body for blood and oxygen. Congestive heart failure occurs when the blood flowing out of the heart is slower than the blood returning to the heart. This causes the collection of fluid in the tissues, which leads to swelling in the legs and ankles or around the lungs. Left-sided heart failure happens when the heart cannot pump enough blood into circulation---known as systolic failure, or when the heart cannot relax enough to fill properly---known as diastolic failure. Right-sided heart failure is the inability of the right side of the heart to pump the blood into the lungs. The American Heart Association reports that right-sided heart failure is most often the result of left-sided failure.
Stroke
Stroke, as reported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, is the third leading cause of death in the United States with about 600,000 new strokes reported every year. A stroke is the result of brain cell death due to a lack of blood flow to the brain. Blockage in an ischemic stroke originates when a blood clot stops the blood flow in an artery or blood vessel in the brain. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel located in the brain erupts and bleeds out into the brain. Symptoms of a stroke include sudden confusion, numbness of the face or extremities, dizziness or an unexplained severe headache. For the best chance of recovery, a stroke patient must be treated within three hours of the onset of symptoms with tPA, or tissue plasminogen activator, a drug that dissolves blood clots.
