There are numerous consequences or complications associated with heart disease. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health or NIH, heart disease is the leading cause of death among American men and women and is a significant cause of disability. The NIH notes that there are numerous types of heart disease, but that a person can reduce his risk of heart disease by controlling his blood pressure, avoiding smoking and engaging in physical activity.
Heart Attack
A heart attack or myocardial infarction is a possible consequence or complication of heart disease. According to MayoClinic.com, heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease, can cause a heart attack when a blood clot occludes blow flow through a coronary artery--one of the blood vessels that delivers blood to the heart itself. Reduced heart blood flow can damage or destroy cardiac muscle cells, and if the heart damage is severe enough, it can kill or disable a person. The American Heart Association or AHA states that a coronary artery may temporarily contract or go into spasm, which causes the artery to narrow and reduce blood flow to a portion of the heart, and that the cause of coronary artery spasm is unknown. Coronary artery spasm can occur in seemingly normal coronary arteries or in the coronary arteries of a person with heart disease. If the spasm is severe, notes the AHA, it can also trigger a heart attack.
Stroke
Stroke is a possible consequence or complication of heart disease. According to MayoClinic.com, cardiovascular disease can cause an ischemic stroke, which occurs when a person's brain arteries are narrowed or occluded and an insufficient amount of blood reaches her brain. MayoClinic.com notes that a stroke is a medical emergency, and that brain tissue begins to degenerate and die shortly after a stroke occurs. The American Stroke Association or ASA states that, although the brain region affected by stroke varies from person to person, the outcome is similar in each case: dysfunction occurs in the part of the body that that brain region controls. If the stroke occurs toward the back of the brain, a person's vision may be impaired. If the stroke occurs on the brain's right side, a person may experience left-sided paralysis, memory loss and vision problems. If the stroke occurs on the brain's left side, a person may experience right-sided paralysis, speech and language problems and memory loss.
Depression
Depression is a possible consequence or complication of heart disease. According to the Cleveland Clinic--one of the top four hospitals in the United States--it's common for a person to feel sad or depressed after being diagnosed with heart disease, and sadness or depression in a person with heart disease are often caused by not knowing what to expect or not being able to perform his usual activities of daily living without feeling fatigued. The Cleveland Clinic states that about 15 percent of people with cardiovascular disease experience major depression, and that negative lifestyle habits associated with depression--including smoking, alcohol abuse, sedentary living, poor diet and inadequate social support--interfere with heart disease treatment. According to a 2004 study by Jurgen Barth, Ph.D. and colleagues published in the journal "Psychosomatic Medicine," depression may be associated with the development of heart disease, and depressive symptoms and clinical depression have a negative affect on mortality in people with heart disease.
