The Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons states that cardiac disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. There are many different conditions that can affect the heart. Some conditions need only to be monitored while others may require lifestyle changes or surgery.
Cardiovascular Disease/Ischemic Heart Disease
Most of the problems with this disease have to do with a hardening of the arteries, where the walls of the arteries begin to become thicker and lose elasticity. The hardening of the arteries is due to having too much saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet. The artery walls will not expand as well when there is a need for more blood to flow, so the arteries cannot accommodate the volume and it can lead to angina (episodes of chest pain) and heart attack. Heart attack is when the heart itself cannot get enough blood and oxygen to function properly and the cells of the heart begin to starve and die. Hypertension can further complicate and add to cardiovascular disease.
Heart Failure
This is a problem of output of the heart. The heart is not beating as hard as needed to pump the blood through the body. The part of the heart that fails is either the left or right ventricle (lower chambers of the heart). The ventricle is the muscle the pushes the blood out into the body or out into the lungs. If the heart does not pump hard enough, there can still be blood left in the heart when the next beat happens. This will lead to a backup within the heart and can even back up blood in the lungs causing respiratory problems (shortness of breath) or even back up into the body, causing swelling. Eventually the failure of the heart to beat properly will cause other organ failure and death.
Endocarditis
This is a swelling and inflammation of the heart structures including the valves between the heart chambers. Usually some type of systemic (whole body) infection is what leads to endocarditis. When the valves are inflamed, they will not close properly to allow for a clean heartbeat and can start throwing tiny blood clots into the body that can end up in the lungs or the brain.
Pericardial Disease
The pericardium is a sack that surrounds and protects the heart. This disease is when fluid accumulates in the sac around the heart and puts pressure on the heart, thus interfering with how well it beats. Most of the time it causes the heart to beat much faster than it needs to. This disease can be caused by a systemic bacterial infection or can develop from other diseases like tuberculosis.
References
- "Emergency: Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured- Ninth Edition;" American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons; 2005.
- "Selected Topics from Basic Sciences to Clinical Competency;" Nikita Vizniak, Bsc, DC; 2003
- Mayo Clinic
