According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women in the United States. There are different types of heart disease, all of which can have significant life threatening consequences that require immediate medical help to help save a life.
Types of Heart Disease
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women in the United States. There are different types of heart disease, all of which can have significant life threatening consequences that require immediate medical help to help save a life.
Symptoms
Symptoms often depend on the type of heart disease that the person has, reports MayoClinic.com. For people with narrowed or completely blocked blood vessels symptoms can include chest pain, shortness of breath and weakness, pain or numbness in the person's legs or arms. Those with arrhythmias often feel a fluttering in her chest, experience chest pain, either a slow or fast heart beat, shortness of breath, dizziness or fainting. Babies who are born with congenital heart defects have symptoms that are usually present within the first few hours of life. These symptoms include gray or blue skin, swelling in the legs, abdomen or around the babies' eyes and shortness of breath when feeding. Congenital heart defects that are not as serious and not diagnosed until childhood or even into adulthood show symptoms of shortness of breath, retaining fluid around the arms, legs and abdomen, irregular heartbeats, dizziness and fainting.
Effects of Heart Disease
Heart disease can cause many types of complications; the MayoClinc.com states that the most common complication is heart failure. Heart failure is when the heart can no longer pump enough blood for the body. Other complications include heart attack, stroke and aneurysm. All of these complications are serious and can result in death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that, in 2006, 631,636 people died from heart disease.
Time Frame
Congenital heart defects are detected before or after birth and occur when the baby's heart was still developing inside the mother's uterus. The MayoClinic.com reports that researches are not certain what causes these defects, but genetics, the mother's medical condition and if she is taking any medications may play a role in the baby's heart not developing properly. Cardiovascular disease takes time to develop. Over time the lack of exercise, poor nutrition and increases in stress levels can make the walls of the arteries thick. This is called atherosclerosis and results in blood not being able to pass easily through the arteries, like it would be able to do in healthy arteries.
Prevention
Congenital heart defects cannot be prevented; however, the other types of heart disease can. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that not smoking or quitting if the person already smokes will help reduce his chances of developing heart disease. Eating healthy foods that are low in fat and cholesterol, participating in exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week and maintaining a healthy weight will also help prevent heart disease.
