Coronary Heart Disease “CHD”? When Does It Begin?
chd
What is Coronary Heart Disease?
Coronary Heart Disease CHD often simply called heart disease is the main form of heart disease. It is a disorder of the blood vessels of the heart that can lead to heart attack. A heart attack happens when an artery becomes blocked, preventing oxygen and nutrients from getting to the heart.
Heart disease is one of several cardiovascular diseases, which are diseases of the heart and blood vessel system. Other cardiovascular diseases include stroke, high blood pressure, angina (chest pain), and rheumatic heart disease.
The term “heart disease” is often used interchangeably with the term “Coronary heart disease. CHD”
The cardiovascular disease generally refers to conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack, chest pain (angina) or stroke.
Other heart conditions, such as those that affect your heart’s muscle, valves or rhythm, also are considered forms of heart disease.
Signs & Symptoms of CHD Causes:
CHD Symptoms Coronary heart disease depends on what type of Coronary Heart Disease You have:
1. Symptoms of “CHD” in your blood vessels (atherosclerotic disease):
Coronary heart disease symptoms may be different for men and women.
For instance, men are more likely to have chest pain; women are more likely to have other symptoms along with chest discomforts, such as shortness of breath, nausea and extreme fatigue.
Symptoms can include:
- Chest pain, chest tightness, chest pressure and chest discomfort (angina).
- Shortness of breath.
- Pain, numbness, weakness or coldness in your legs or arms if the blood vessels in those parts of your body are narrowed.
- Pain in the neck, jaw, throat, upper abdomen or back.
You might not be diagnosed with the coronary heart disease until you have a heart attack, angina, stroke or heart failure. It’s important to watch for cardiovascular symptoms and discuss concerns with your doctor. Coronary heart disease can sometimes be found early with regular evaluations.
“CHD” Symptoms Caused by:
1. Abnormal heartbeats (heart arrhythmias):
A heart arrhythmia is an abnormal heartbeat. Your heart may beat too quickly, too slowly or irregularly. Heart arrhythmia symptoms can include:
- Fluttering in your chest.
- Racing heartbeat (tachycardia).
- Slow heartbeat (bradycardia).
- Chest pain or discomfort.
- Shortness of breath.
- Lightheadedness.
- Dizziness.
- Fainting (syncope) or near fainting.
2. Heart Defects:
Serious congenital heart defects, defects you’re born with usually become evident soon after birth. Heart defect symptoms in children could include:
- Pale gray or blue skin color (cyanosis).
- Swelling in the legs, abdomen or areas around the eyes.
- In an infant, shortness of breath during feedings, leading to poor weight gain.
Less serious congenital heart defects are often not diagnosed until later in childhood or during adulthood. Signs and symptoms of congenital heart defects that usually aren’t immediately life-threatening include:
- Easily getting short of breath during exercise or activity.
- Easily tiring during exercise or activity.
- Swelling of the hands, ankles or feet.
3. Weak Heart Muscle (Dilated Cardiomyopathy):
In early stages of cardiomyopathy, you may have no symptoms. As the condition worsens, symptoms may include:
- Breathlessness with exertion or at rest.
- Swelling of the legs, ankles, and feet.
- Fatigue.
- Irregular heartbeats that feel rapid, pounding or fluttering.
- Dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting.
4. Heart Infections:
Endocarditis is an infection that affects the inner membrane that separates the chambers and valves of the heart (endocardium). Heart infection symptoms can include:
- Fever.
- Shortness of breath.
- Weakness or fatigue.
- Swelling in your legs or abdomen.
- Changes in your heart rhythm.
- Dry or a persistent cough.
- Skin rashes or unusual spots.
6. Valvular Heart Disease:
Depending on which valve isn’t working properly, valvular heart disease symptoms generally include:
- Fatigue.
- Shortness of breath.
- Irregular heartbeat.
- Swollen feet or ankles.
- Chest pain.
- Fainting (syncope).
When to see a doctor:
Seek emergency medical care if you have these heart disease symptoms:
- Chest pain.
- Shortness of breath.
- Fainting.
Causes:
Coronary heart disease (CHD) starts when certain factors damage the inner layers of the coronary arteries. These factors include:
- Smoking.
- High levels of certain fats and cholesterol in the blood.
- High blood pressure.
- High levels of sugar in the blood due to insulin resistance or diabetes.
- Blood vessel inflammation.
- Plaque might begin to build up where the arteries are damaged. The buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries may start in childhood.
Over time, plaque can harden or rupture (break open). Hardened plaque narrows the coronary arteries and reduces the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. This can cause angina (chest pain or discomfort).
If the plaque ruptures, blood cell fragments called platelets (PLATE-lets) stick to the site of the injury. They may clump together to form blood clots.
Blood clots can further narrow the coronary arteries and worsen angina. If a clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block a coronary artery and cause a heart attack.
Risk Factors:
Risk factors for developing Coronary Heart Disease “CHD” include:
1. Age: Aging increases your risk of damaged and narrowed arteries and weakened or thickened heart muscle.
2. Sex: Men are generally at greater risk of heart disease. However, women’s risk increases after menopause.
3. Family History: A family history of heart disease increases your risk of coronary artery disease, especially if a parent developed it at an early age (before age 55 for a male relative, such as your brother or father, and 65 for a female relative, such as your mother or sister).
4. Smoking: Nicotine constricts your blood vessels, and carbon monoxide can damage their inner lining, making them more susceptible to atherosclerosis. Heart attacks are more common in smokers than in nonsmokers.
5. Poor Diet: A diet that’s high in fat, salt, sugar, and cholesterol can contribute to the development of heart disease.
6. High Blood Pressure: Blood pressure is considered high if it stays at or above 140/90 mmHg over time. If you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure is defined as 130/80 mmHg or higher.
7. High Blood Cholesterol Levels: High levels of cholesterol in your blood can increase the risk of formation of plaques and atherosclerosis.
8. Diabetes: With this disease, the body’s blood sugar level is too high because the body doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use its insulin properly.
9. Overweight or Obesity: Excess weight typically worsens other risk factors.
10. Physical inactivity: Being physically inactive can worsen other risk factors for CHD, such as unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, diabetes, and overweight or obesity.
11. Stress: Unrelieved stress may damage your arteries and worsen other risk factors for heart disease.
12. Poor hygiene: Not regularly washing your hands and not establishing other habits that can help prevent viral or bacterial infections can put you at risk of heart infections, especially if you already have an underlying heart condition. Poor dental health also may contribute to heart disease.
Complications:
Complications of Coronary Heart Disease CHD include:
A. Heart Failure:
One of the most common complications of heart disease, heart failure occurs when your heart can’t pump enough blood to meet your body’s needs. Heart failure can result from many forms of heart disease, including heart defects, cardiovascular disease, valvular heart disease, heart infections or cardiomyopathy.
B. Heart attack:
A blood clot blocking the blood flow through a blood vessel that feeds the heart causes a heart attack, possibly damaging or destroying a part of the heart muscle. Atherosclerosis can cause a heart attack.
C. Stroke:
The risk factors that lead to cardiovascular disease also can lead to an ischemic stroke, which happens when the arteries to your brain are narrowed or blocked so that too little blood reaches your brain. A stroke is a medical emergency brain tissue begins to die within just a few minutes of a stroke.
D. An aneurysm:
A serious complication that can occur anywhere in your body, an aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of your artery. If an aneurysm bursts, you may face life-threatening internal bleeding.
E. Peripheral artery disease:
Atherosclerosis also can lead to peripheral artery disease. When you develop peripheral artery disease, your extremities usually your legs don’t receive enough blood flow. This causes symptoms, most notably leg pain when walking (claudication).
F. Sudden cardiac arrest:
A sudden cardiac arrest is the sudden, unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness, often caused by an arrhythmia. A sudden cardiac arrest is a medical emergency. If not treated immediately, it is fatal, resulting in sudden cardiac death.
Prevention:
To prevent Coronary Heart Disease:
You can prevent and control coronary heart disease (CHD) by taking action to control your risk factors with heart-healthy lifestyle changes and medicines.
Examples of risk factors:
you can control include high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and overweight and obesity. Only a few risk factors such as age, gender, and family history can’t be controlled.
Your risk for CHD increases with the number of risk factors you have.
To reduce your risk of CHD and heart attack, try to control each risk factor you have by adopting the following heart-healthy lifestyles:
- Heart-healthy eating.
- Maintaining a healthy weight.
- Managing stress.
- Physical activity.
- Quitting smoking.
“CHD” Treatment:
Treatments for coronary heart disease include heart-healthy lifestyle changes, medicines, medical procedures and surgery, and cardiac rehabilitation. Treatment goals may include:
- Lowering the risk of blood clots forming (blood clots can cause a heart attack).
- Preventing complications of coronary heart disease.
- Reducing risk factors in an effort to slow, stop, or reverse the buildup of plaque.
- Relieving symptoms.
- Widening or bypassing clogged arteries.
Heart-Healthy Lifestyle Changes:
Your doctor may recommend heart-healthy lifestyle changes if you have coronary heart disease. Heart-healthy lifestyle changes include:
- Heart-healthy eating.
- Maintaining a healthy weight.
- Managing stress.
- Physical activity.
- Quitting smoking.
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Sources: www.nhs.uk – www.mayoclinic.org – www.nhlbi.nih.gov
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