What are heart conditions?
Diseases of the heart and blood vessels, including heart attack and stroke causes the most deaths in Australia claiming a life every 10 minutes. Heart attack is the single biggest killer of both men and women under the age of 70.
Common heart conditions
Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack)
Myocardial infarction (MI) is when a portion of cardiac muscle is necrosed (dead). This can be caused by an obstruction in the coronary artery from either arterioscleroses or embolus.
Atherosclerosis
A blockage in a vessel caused by the build-up of plaque (deposits of fat-like substance).
Arteriosclerosis
Hardening of the arteries caused by blockages in blood vessels caused by the plaque.
Embolus
This refers to a foreign object, a quantity of air or gas, a bit of tissue or tumor, or a piece of thrombus (blood clot) that circulates in the blood stream until it becomes lodged in a vessel as a clot.
Coronary Thrombosis (coronary occlusion)
This condition occurs when a clot causes a blockage in a coronary artery, often causing a myocardial infarction and/or death.
Cardiac Arrhythmia
This is an abnormal cardiac rate or rhythm. Arrhythmias include bradycardia (slow rhythm), tachycardia (fast rhythm) and heart block.
Ischemic Heart Disease
Ischemic heart disease includes heart attack and related heart problems caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries causing a decreased supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. It is also known as coronary artery disease and coronary heart disease.
Congestive heart failure is a condition in which the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body’s other organs. This can result from:
- narrowed arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle—coronary artery disease;
- scar tissue from a past heart attack or MI, which interferes with the heart muscle’s normal work;
- high blood pressure or hypertension;
- heart valve disease due to past rheumatic fever or other causes;
- primary disease of the heart muscle itself, called cardiomyopathy;
- congenital heart disease or defects in the heart present at birth;
- infection of the heart valves/heart muscle itself—endocarditis/myocarditis.
The "failing" heart keeps working but doesn’t work as efficiently as it should. People with heart failure can’t exert themselves because they become short of breath and tired.
As blood flow out of the heart slows, blood returning to the heart through the veins backs up, causing congestion in the tissues. Often swelling (oedema) results, often in the legs and ankles and occasionally in other parts of the body. Sometimes fluid collects in the lungs and interferes with breathing, causing shortness of breath, especially when a person is lying down.
Heart failure also affects the ability of the kidneys to dispose of sodium and water. The retained water increases the oedema.
Angina Pectoris
Angina pectoris is chest pain due to coronary heart disease. The heart muscle doesn’t receive enough blood, resulting in pain in the chest.
Angina is a symptom of a condition called myocardial ischemia. It occurs when the heart muscle (myocardium) doesn’t get as much blood (hence as much oxygen) as it needs for a given level of work. Insufficient blood supply is called ischemia.
Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA, Stroke)
CVA is when a blood vessel supplying part of the brain is blocked or leaks. This results in an impaired blood supply to, and ischemia in, part of the brain.
Cerebral Embolism
This is a small mass of material circulating in the blood vessels. It can consist of air, fat or other material. Damage from cerebral embolism is often less extensive and recovery is more rapid than in strokes resulting from thrombosis and cerebral haemorrhage.
Cerebral Thrombosis
A thrombus, or clot, in a blood vessel of the brain is by far the most common cause of stroke. The thrombosis produces ischemia, oedema and congestion of the brain tissues surrounding the area. Symptoms appear more gradually in this type of stroke.
Cerebral Haemorrhage
Cerebral haemorrhage is a rupturing of a blood vessel, usually an artery, within the brain. The haemorrhage is often associated with pre-existing hypertension.
Hypertension
Hypertension is persistently high blood pressure. In adults this is when the systolic pressure is equal to or greater than 130 mm Hg and the diastolic is equal to or greater than 85 mm Hg. Systolic blood pressure is the pressure inside the blood vessels when the heart pumps blood out through the body. Diastolic blood pressure is the pressure inside the blood vessels in between heartbeats, when the heart is resting. Hypertension is not a single disease but rather a major indicator of the prognosis for future development of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and renal disease.
References
American Heart Association :http://www.americanheart.org/
High Blood Pressure, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, August 1997
Mosby’s Medical Nursing and Allied Health Dictionary, Mosby, 5th Ed, 1998
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