Heart disease & Heart attack

 

WHAT IS HEART DISEASE?

Heart disease encompasses a wide range of cardiovascular problems. Several diseases and conditions fall under the umbrella of heart disease. Heart disease also refers to conditions that involve the heart, its vessels, muscles, valves, or internal electric pathways responsible for muscular contraction. Common heart disease conditions include:

• Coronary artery disease
• Heart failure
• Cardiomyopathy
• Heart valve disease
• Arrhythmias
• Heart infections: caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites.

Coronary artery disease is the main cause of heart attacks. It is the most common kind of heart disease.

WHAT IS A HEART ATTACK?

When a coronary artery becomes blocked (usually by a blood clot), an area of heart tissue loses its blood supply. This reduction of blood can quickly damage and/or kill heart tissue, so quick treatments in an emergency department and/or catheterization suite are necessary to reduce the loss of heart tissue. Loss of heart tissue due to a blockage can cause symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, and even death. Quick treatments have reduced the number of deaths from heart attacks in recent years. About 790,000 people suffer from heart attacks in the U.S. each year.

HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS

The following are warning signs of a heart attack:

• Chest pain (may spread to the back, neck, arms and/or jaw)
• Dizziness
• Nausea, vomiting
• Rapid or irregular heartbeats
• Shortness of breath
• Some people may exhibit anxiety, indigestion and/or heartburn (some women may present with these as their predominant symptoms instead of chest pain)
• Weakness
• Light-headedness
• Breaking out in a cold sweat

Women may experience different heart attack signs and symptoms than men. Jaw pain, shortness of breath, and nausea and vomiting may be more common in women who have heart attacks than men.